Boxing Isn’t Dead, But ESPN Is Burying It
(No Mas welcomes the one and only Unsilent back to the team, and he comes out of his corner with both gloves flying… don’t call it a comeback, he’s been here for years…)
On Saturday night Kelly Pavlik will face off against Jermain Taylor for the latter’s Middleweight title, but don’t expect to hear about it on SportsCenter. Those of us who still consider ourselves boxing fans hardly need any reminder – it’s a fight night we’ve been looking forward to since Pavlik stopped Edison Miranda in dramatic fashion prior to Taylor’s last defense. Yet the average sports fan remains oblivious to this potential Fight of the Year. Typical pundits and commentators continue to offer the same explanation for the lack of mainstream buzz around such an event – “boxing is dead.” But in a year when a mediocre fight like Mayweather/De La Hoya broke the record for pay-per-view buys how can this possibly be true?
It isn’t.
Boxing is arguably more “alive” now than it has been since Mike Tyson helped turn the sport into a national punchline some ten years ago. In case you hadn’t noticed, boxing is having one hell of a year and it’s only going to get better in the next three months. So why is it that a sport filled with so many dynamic young fighters (too many to list) hasn’t been able to recover in the eyes of omniscient journalists? In one word, coverage. In another word, money.
ESPN, the epicenter of the American sports landscape, once prided itself on bringing athletic competition to the masses of fans desperate for more coverage. In its more idyllic days the network might even have considered it their responsibility to cover (and even promote) events for the benefit of the fans and the sport itself. Ten years ago (the same year as the Tyson/Holyfield debacle) any semblance of noblesse oblige in Bristol was gradually replaced by its responsibility to the Walt Disney Company and its legion of shareholders. If the network doesn’t have a stake (be it direct or indirect) in an event you’re not likely to hear it discussed on their flagship show.
On those rare occasions when SportsCenter shifts it’s focus onto boxing it is seldom positive. Typically the story in question is in place to perpetuate the idea that boxing is more joke than sport (or it’s a promo for their reality show, The Contender). In the past we’ve been treated to countless stories on the sad on-going career of the seemingly punch-drunk Evander Holyfield. The lone “boxing” stories that I’ve seen crack SportsCenter’s rotation this week have involved Pretty Boy Floyd dancing like a fool and the downward spiral that is Mike Tyson’s life. The last time SportsCenter featured any real boxing coverage the commentators were debating whether or not two fading stars could “save” the sport. In Mayweather/De La Hoya we had two ring legends who were fighting for nothing more than money and the opportunity to make more money.
So what should we expect from the producers next week, an interview with the Middleweight champion or a story about the Golden Boy prancing around in fishnets? These are the decisions that keep Norby Williamson up at night.
The ESPN brand is so vast that it has become the lone source of sports highlights, analysis, and previews for many of the nation’s casual sports fans. At this point, a picture of Pete Weber might be more recognizable to a dedicated ESPN consumer than one of Jermain Taylor. Ever since ESPN bought up the Arena Football League, Tony Graziani’s name has been on the lips of SportsCenter anchors more than Kelly Pavlik or Andre Berto or any of the other emerging marketable stars. It makes sense for any major corporation to “keep things in the family” but Disney goes off the deep end. Take for example their recent refusal to air promos for the World Series now that they aren’t broadcasting the post-season.
Citing network policy, ESPN says it does not accept advertising that promotes competitive programming on other networks unless it is contractually obligated to do so , and it states that it’s not obligated to under its new media deal with MLB. It says other networks have similar policies.
…yeah, because why would a sports specific network want to let people know when and where they can watch the World Series when they could be running promos for the World Series of Poker reruns on ESPN2?
So what is it that’s taking up all of the airtime on your average SportsCenter broadcast? Take a look at my quick recap of the final third (or so) of Wednesday’s episode.
And all that after the guys on Around the Horn and Pardon the Interuption had spent the previous hour bickering over all of the days top stories… I guess that to get a little play in that lineup Disney would have to start promoting major fights themselves. Either that or Bob Arum’s going to have make a sizable deposit in Disney’s bank.
ESPN has been able to mollify its some of its remaining die-hards with terrific–yet woefully limited–coverage. The primary component of the company’s boxing coverage is Friday Night Fights which offers compelling live cards and analysis of the larger boxing scene. So what do they have planned for this week’s episode? Uh…well nothing really, apparently the season is over. I didn’t even know boxing had seasons… well played ESPN.
It would have been so easy for them to run a simple hour long special of Friday Night Fights with a specific focus on Saturday’s card. Pavlik’s pro debut came on the show seven years ago, they could always replay that. They could have even shown some highlights of Taylor’s more entertaining bouts. ESPN.com’s own Prospect of the Year from 2006, Andre Berto, is the feature on the undercard, so surely he’s worth a mention or two. Earlier this year (when the fight was first being arranged) Pavlik sat in on the set with Brian Kenny and performed admirably. I imagine that a three-way interview with BK, Pavlik, and the mercurial champion would have made for good television. Another time Kenny was joined in-studio by another young star, Miguel Cotto. I may be crazy, but I’m pretty sure he’s got a better grasp on the English language than Bill Parcells and Emmitt Smith, two of ESPN’s infelicitous NFL analysts. When ESPN broadcasts boxing they do it extremely well – I’d just like to see a modicum of coverage (and dare I suggest year-round broadcasts of FNF?).
The boxing page on ESPN.com has long suffered from a similar fate. The content is made up of solid analysis, typically from Dan Raphael, the site’s lone in-house boxing scribe. Raphael does an admirable job considering what he’s given to work with. His previews and recaps are typically insightful and analytical; but for the most part, that’s all they’ve got. For some inexplicable reason Raphael’s pound-for-pound rankings, his blog and such features as the Kelly Pavlik online chat are kept under lock and key over at ESPN Insider. The rest of the content that is made available to the general public typically comes from sources outside of the ESPN family. Recently the site ran a superb column by Don Steinberg yet it never cracked the coveted front page of the dot-com. But hey, I’m just glad I didn’t have to pay for the privilege.
I’m not a boxing fanatic and I certainly don’t expect to see in-ring highlights bumping the NFL out of the first segment of SportsCenter, but what I’m looking for is far from impractical. All of the pieces are in place, and there’s plenty of room for them (unless you really need to see Skip Bayless shouting nonsense at another befuddled “analyst”). So hire Steinberg away from the Philadelphia Inquirer (he’s guaranteed to work out better than the last guy), make Friday Night Fights a true weekly event, and for the love of god please find some room for the sweet science in that jam-packed SportsCenter lineup more than twice a year.
On Tuesday, Brian Kenny capped off the 7 pm show with highlights and sound bites from some sort of European pumpkin kayak race. Afterwards he made a quipe something along the lines of, “25 years ago ESPN would have been broadcasting that.” Yeah BK, but 25 years ago the producers would have also let you talk about the best boxing match of the year (to date).
September 28th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Well said. My cable package is not good, but I’m curious if the ESPN alternatives (FSN primarily, and maybe VS) do a better job? Does anybody know anything about this?
September 28th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
ESPN is still light-years ahead of any potential competitors.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Nobody has the money to get the big fights but HBO and Showtime. Versus is definitely positioning itself to take over for Classic once Classic goes dark (1/1/2008 people – ESPNC R.I.P.).
September 28th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
espn has been doing that with fnf since it started.
you cannot tell me mma/ufc has not surpassed boxingg.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
you cannot tell me mma/ufc has not surpassed boxingg.
600,000 people paid to watch Chuck Liddell fight while Mayweather/De La Hoya brought in 2,150,000 ppv buys.
so yeah, i certainly can
September 28th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Large,
Where did you hear ESPN Classic is getting cancelled? I know they’ve stopped their original programming – no great loss there – but I haven’t heard anything about the network getting the axe altogether?
Brian Moore
September 28th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
the only reason no fnf, becaue of a good college football game and on espn it is baseball for playoff births.
September 28th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
I have it on excellent sources, Anon. Bank on it.
September 28th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
You notice that ESPNC and ESPN2 has a tendency to show lowsy boxing matches at random times. The one time I saw a good match on ESPNC was when they showed Ali-Fraiser 3…at 3 AM.
And ESPNC has been dead for a while now. Or do you actually *want* to watch bowling, billiards, and poker?
September 28th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Dear American Boxing Fans,
Welcome to the slums of Bristol, my brothers. You’ll soon learn that it’s much like Hell, except Barry Melrose runs this joint.
Sincerely,
American Hockey Fans.
September 28th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
In my opinion, all of the talk about mma surpassing boxing is ridiculous. I don’t know any DIEHARD mma fans. Sure, there is plenty of casual mma observers. After all, who doesn’t like to watch two guys fight(regardless of the rules)? But EVERY person I know who cares about boxing is passionate about it.
September 28th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Deceptively, we used to have this kid on here, THe Franchise, and… yo yo, the man loved his mma like it weren’t no thang.
September 29th, 2007 at 1:07 am
did we ever get any closure on the whole the franchise saga?
September 29th, 2007 at 3:42 am
Well, it has certainly been a while. Haven’t posted around these parts in a while but rest assured I have never left.
The Franchise is returning to these here internets very soon so look out for a big announcement.
In the meantime, the lack of MMA/wrestling talk around here has got me thinking of pulling an MJ. So much has happened since we last spoke I might just have to set the record straight…
September 29th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
the only reason no fnf, becaue of a good college football game and on espn it is baseball for playoff births.
Friday college football games should be illegal. Just ask all of the Oklahoma fans who had to choose between the Sooner game last week and their beloved high schoool action.
October 2nd, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Great piece UM. A little more goes into this than your stuff at KSK – its easy to see, and understand why. Im all for some degenerate bukkake scene, but after the fight yea?
October 2nd, 2007 at 2:41 pm
conformist’s- thanks for the words. i’m fortunate to be able to contribute to all different sorts of blogs.
October 10th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
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