Grade The Inaugural PBC Fight Card

[Jello Biafra]

Production

The show looked classy as hell with high production values and a nice venue in MSG. And the fighter vignettes were almost HBO 24/7 quality. Where things fell apart was in the sanitized and downright bland ring entrances for the fighters. Having them do solo walks with generic music was a horrible idea and needs to be changed immediately.
Also the replays between rounds was really bad and missed important moments of action completely.

Grade: C

Announcing/Commentary

Al Michaels was fine as the host of the show and Sugar Ray was fine when all he had to do was chit-chat with Michaels. Sugar Ray on commentary was terrible though and he always has been. Marv Albert seemed like a tired old man who had never watched boxing before and wanted to just go home and go to sleep. Laila Ali was OK I guess; she has never been all that great of a personality but she wasn't terrible or anything. I have no clue why BJ Flores was even invited to participate in this show.

Grade: D

Broner vs Molina

Broner showed athleticism and skill but not star power in a moment when he should have come to show out. A workmanlike but cautious performance against an overmatched opponent does nothing to make casual viewers want to wathc you fight. Broner missed an opportunity.
Molina needs to be shipped back to Comcast Sports Net because he was just a huge disappointment.

Grade: C-

Thurman vs Guerrero

This fight was entertaining and a showcase fight for Thurman. He showed poise, power and toughness and took a major step towards becoming a big name in the sport.
Guerrero really was never even close to winning this fight aside from a few moments in the 11th and 12th rounds but he showed guts and heart which made him come out looking good despite taking the loss.
This fight also served to re-invigorate a crowd that had completely checked out because of how un-entertaining the first fight turned out to be.

Grade: B+

 

[patscorpio]

Production - the ringwalks were not hitting, the music was too generic. I know its NBC but you got to let the fighters be themselves with what they choose. They can easily improve as it wasn't that bad. B-

Announcing - Needs a complete overhaul. Marv had no energy and seemed to not know what was going on. Sugar Ray is somebody who's tolerable when there is a foil of someone who knows how to be on the mic. Laila needs to stay a backstage interviewer. She contributed next to nothing when she was in the corners. Al Michaels was cool with with me. D+

Fights - Broner/Molina Jr - C: i'm giving this that grade because it was suppose to jump this shyt off and it had a failed first impression but Broner boxed well so I can't go lower than that; Guerrero/Thurman - B+: a good action packed brawl for 12 rounds. Had Thurman managed to put Guerrero away it would have gotten no less than A and I would have called it an automatic FOTY candidate.

I posted this in the other thread and ill repost here

ill say this about PBC:
Keith Thurman - Won the fight and the event; made the most of the spotlight on him and will probably get a major fight out of it hopefully. Also needs to tighten up on his defense, he needs to get at Winky for that.
Robert Guerrero - Got his ass beat as expected but didn't stop trying his damndest to win the fight; most likely earned future paydays and dates on network TV as he is a necessary foil for cats with spectacular offense that having no problem going through his leaky defense.
Adrien Broner - He is lucky that he already crossed over and he still remains a name/sellling point among casuals due to his personality and floyd affiliation. However while he beat Molina he didn't do it in a way that excited viewers. The ratings dropoff during his fight is too notable which is something im sure Al can't ignore. He's going to have to come correct in whoever he's facing next.
John Molina - Just straight up blew it. Had a chance to break through and flopped in a pedestrian performance. Lost 3 fights in a row so most likely its back to FNF/Shobox for him.

 

[Thatrogueassdiaz]

Announcing sucked, entrances were a little weird, fights were good imo. Broner and Thurman outclassed their opponents. I thought guerrero would make it a close fight but he was damn near embarrassed out there. He didn't give up tho so he gets kudos from me on that one

 

[Newzz]

Newzz' review:


Production

Pros: I liked the ring, the "Titantron", and just the crispness of the cameras. NBC in HD is second to none. The 32 cameras are a nice touch and I hope to see them expand on that in the future.

Cons: I didnt like the solo ring walks or the generic music. Made it seem like some "American Gladiators" type event imo. I think they should show highlights of the fighters as they are walking to the ring on the TitanTron and let them choose their own music...as well as bring back the entire crew walking with them.


Grade: B-

Announcing/Commentary

Pros: Legends on legends on legends. Al Michaels, Marv Albert, and Sugar Ray Leonard.

Cons: Marv Albert and SRL have 0 chemistry and were totally watching different fights then I was that night. I heard Albert calling shots from AB that didnt land, and SRL giving Molina "props" for things he never did. I didnt like Laila Ali and BJ Flores talking about what was going on in the corners....I would've preferred for it to be the corner men themselves like normal. I have to say it again, Albert and SRL were HORRIBLE imo.

Grade: D-

Broner vs Molina

Pros: AB delivered a 1 sided, boxing lesson to the extremely limited John Molina Jr. It was the best pure BOXING performance I have ever seen from Broner. Jab was pumping, he switched up the location points for the jab, defense was excellent, chin was strong, and he stayed close enough to get his offense in and out of range of the slower Molina's wild swings. Broner was excellent in the fight. Only thing missing was a KO or dropping Molina, but I do understand he was playing it safe due to Bey/Lundy's experiences with Molina.

Cons: John Molina Jr. He did absolutely nothing and was exactly what Broner called him, "a punching bag that punches bag". He had nothing for AB and I believe he was scared off by Broner's hand speed, counter punching, punching accuracy, and defense. he complained that Broner RAN in the fight, but it wasnt until the 12th round that Broner really stopped coming towards Molina....12th round was basically a victory lap. Molina didnt let his hands go nor did he give himself a chance in that fight. Completly pathetic effort from him.

Grade: C

Thurman vs Guerrero

Pros: Keith Thurman has officially arrived. This is the 1st RING MAGAZINE Top 10 fighter he has defeated in his career, and he did it pretty convincingly. Applied good variety and mixed in the jabs, body, and power shots to Guerrero and beat him up good. Guerrero showed heart to take the beating, but he had nothing for Thurman. Speaking of Guerrero, he had the crowd behind him and Im sure he will be back on PBC on NBC since he's the only one who really got cheers from the crowd. He may be a fan favorite in the making. Good fight from the both of them, especially when Guerrero rose up off the deck and began to attack and pressure Thurman...attempting to turn the tide.

Cons: Thurman is gonna have to improve his inside game, and his resistance to pressure, because Showtime Shawn Porter is licking his chops right now. Other than that, Thurman did everything right. Guerrero showed in this fight (as well as aganst Floyd Mayweather) that he is not talented enough to beat the top tier 147lbers, but he is still a good matchup for the younger fighters or someone moving up from 140. He's almost gatekeeper status, because I dont really see anyone in the Top 10 he can beat at 147, but for now...a fight between Robert Guerrero vs a Lamont Peterson would be a good matchup if Peterson does intend to move up from 140 this year.

Grade: B

 

[Jello Biafra]

Newzz' review:
Pros: I liked the ring, the "Titantron", and just the crispness of the cameras. NBC in HD is second to none. The 32 cameras are a nice touch and I hope to see them expand on that in the future.

Cons: I didnt like the solo ring walks or the generic music. Made it seem like some "American Gladiators" type event imo. I think they should show highlights of the fighters as they are walking to the ring on the TitanTron and let them choose their own music...as well as bring back the entire crew walking with them.

I really do like the inital walk-out with the stage and the boxer standing their solo for a few seconds. But then they should have their team at the bottom of the ramp waiting to walk to the ring with them.

And I am wondering if there would have been an issue with licensing if they used music of the boxers choosing because that is the only reason I can think of for that generic ass music they used.

 

[Jello Biafra]

Laila needs to stay a backstage interviewer.

I agree on that. She works fine asking pre-screened questions of the fighters/trainers in the back but that is all she should be doing.

 

[patscorpio]

I agree on that. She works fine asking pre-screened questions of the fighters/trainers in the back but that is all she should be doing.

i also felt steve smoger shined as well in his role as well. he did a great job. Definitely need to keep him doing that if not as a ref

 

[Jello Biafra]

i also felt steve smoger shined as well in his role as well. he did a great job. Definitely need to keep him doing that if not as a ref

Yeah Smoger was great. I especially liked how he wasn't scared to be critical of bad officiating like he did when talking about the ref in the Broner/Molina fight.

 

[L68]

I pretty much agree with all of OP's grades and have them the same

 

[FreedMind]

LET EM HAVE ENTOURAGES !! Might as well have a commercial break during those boring entrances

 

[krackdagawd]

LET EM HAVE ENTOURAGES !! Might as well have a commercial break during those boring entrances

This.

An AB entrance without a demonic rapper bringing him out

 

[THASTUNNA]

Production C

Announcing/Commentary D

Broner vs Molina C

Thurman vs Guerrero B

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

Production

I think a lot of the pageantry that we are used to was lost with the individual walks. Not a fan of the music as most here but Hans Zimmer plays better for most demographics than Lil Boosie or Young Thug on television
Grade: C

Announcing/Commentary

I put it on mute after a while. SRL is too damn accomplished of a boxer to be talking like a novice on boxing.

Grade: D-

Broner vs Molina

Broner fought a smart fight though he could have done more. Molina pissed me off.

Grade: C

Thurman vs Guerrero

Great fight, not a lot of suspense but it did have it's gladiator like moments for the causals.

Grade: B+

 

[LauderdaleBoss]

Production = B-

Pros- Great stages, good lighting,
Cons- no entourages for the ring walk, music sucked. I could have gotten better beats from this fukking forum than that bullshyt they played.

Announcement = C

Pros- Smoger and BJ Flores
Cons- everybody else.

Broner/Molina = C

Pros - Broner boxed real good, great jab, clowned a lil, stuck to a game plan
Cons- Broner didn't close the show and missed out on an opportunity to shine like he was supposed to. Molina only threw 249 punches in 12 rounds. Total non effort. Get this can off my tv.

Thurman/Guerrero= B

Pros- Thurman did what he was supposed to and kicked ass
Cons - Guerrero couldn't amount to dikk until Keith gassed out after the knockdown/trying to finish him. Fight was one-sided as hell before that.

Overall I didn't expect too much from this card. Never really liked it from jump and said so even though I'm a big fan of Thurminator and Bandcamp

The Swift card is much better on paper, but well see how that goes.