NBC SPORTS RETURNS TO BOXING
The boxing industry is essentially splintered into three de facto leagues, each with its own TV rights deal — or in the case of PBC, two of them — and stable of fighters.
PBC boasts the largest, deepest roster with fights on FOX and Showtime; DAZN features boxers aligned with Matchroom Sport and Golden Boy; and then there’s Top Rank, the old guard that is in the midst of a seven-year deal with ESPN.
Now, sources tell
The Athletic, a new entity is jumping into the fray after completing a rights deal with NBC Sports, only there won’t be any promoter at all, save for a local one in place simply to stage the fights.
Ring City, a sports media platform startup, kicks off its promoter-agnostic boxing series on Nov. 19, the first of three Thursday night events on NBC Sports Network this year, sources said. Two more follow on Dec. 3 and Dec. 17 before the company embarks on a full slate in 2021.
The mission statement is simple: Create action-packed fights where each boxer has a realistic path to victory. There will be two-to-three bouts on each two-hour telecast, per sources, which will be contested at historic gyms around the U.S. The trio of upcoming events will be staged at a famed gym in Southern California.
If Ring City is successful, the series will harken back to the days of “USA Tuesday Night Fights,” a 90s program that delivered fan-friendly bouts, many of them spotlighting top prospects.
Ostensibly, Ring City won’t be competing with the three aforementioned leagues. Instead, the series could serve as a feeder system, much the way the XFL acted as a pipeline for the NFL.
The bouts aren’t completed yet, but the group, composed of former HBO Sports executive Evan Rutkowski, lawyer Kurt Emhoff and former “Contender” consultant Sam Katkovski on the boxing side, has already extended offers to promoters. (The co-founders are marketing executive Frank Samuel and production executive Jeff Huggins.)
Ring City’s budget for shows will exceed that of “ShoBox,” Showtime’s prospect-oriented series, per sources.
But unlike that program, which over the last couple of years has often televised vaunted prospects in complete mismatches, Ring City officials have vowed to pass on any such matchups. Even if it means missing out on a rising star like Jaron Ennis, who’s boxed on “ShoBox” countless times in one-sided fights.
Perhaps equally as important, boxing once again returns to NBC Sports, a network with a long history in the fight game.
Al Haymon’s PBC debuted in 2015 with a fight between Keith Thurman and Robert Guerrero on the free-to-air network. PBC also had bouts on sister network NBC Sports Network, which is available in over 80 million homes.
Keith Thurman and Robert Guerrero fought in the debut of PBC on March 7, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Harry How/Getty Images)
Previously, Main Events enjoyed a run on the pair of networks, highlighted by the ascent of Sergey Kovalev and the stateside debut of current heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who knocked out Steve Cunningham on NBC in 2013.
Main Events CEO Kathy Duva was close to reviving a rights deal with NBC in 2018 before the agreement fell apart when the Atlanta city site agreement that would have injected money collapsed.
Now, Duva figures to be one of the promoters supplying fighters to Ring City, along with others who don’t currently enjoy TV deals like Lou DiBella, Dmitry Salita and Tom Loeffler. These promoters have been forced to rely on the three de facto leagues for precious B-side slots for fighter development. Ring City will provide them a much-needed outlet and could also ostensibly showcase boxers from major promotions, though it could prove difficult to secure them.
In order for Ring City to succeed, competitive matchmaking will need to be first and foremost. The organization, at least, won’t be clouded by other interests like protecting its own fighters. It will also eschew multi-fight deals in favor of one-offs designed to ensure there are as many 50-50 bouts as possible.
Storytelling will also be key. Longtime television executive Eric Weinberger, formerly of NFL Network and The Ringer, will play a large role on that front, per sources. The series will aim to whip around the industry, covering the sport at large in the same vein as ESPN’s defunct “Friday Night Fights” series with news and insight.
Shoulder programming is expected on digital platforms, too.
All those ingredients will be paramount to the startup’s success as it aims to create a successful brand in a boxing industry that is being disrupted by COVID. But one aspect must rule them all for fans to truly care about boxing’s return to NBC Sports: competitive matchmaking featuring real talent.
PBC and Main Events were able to deliver that in spurts. Sustaining longevity in that department is a far greater challenger, especially in today’s boxing world that’s more splintered than ever before.
Classic Rewind
The great Erik Morales celebrated his 44th birthday Tuesday, so let’s take a look back at his final fight of the year candidate in a career full of them.
In some ways, his performance against Marcos Maidana is the hall of famer’s most gutsy feat. Sure, it’s hard to top his three grueling battles with Marco Antonio Barrera or turning southpaw in the 12th round against Manny Pacquiao in a fight he was winning.
But to stand toe-to-toe with Marcos Maidana, a young, rugged brawler with anvils for fists at the age of 34? Not just any 34, mind you. His 58th bout in a career filled with wars that took their toll.
When Maidana-Morales was announced, it was lambasted. It was hard to see anything other than a destructive win for Maidana, the Argentine who was coming off a terrific performance against Amir Khan in a close-decision loss that was a contender for fight of the year.
Maidana was installed as nearly a 6-to-1 favorite. Morales, after all, entered the fight on the heels of three wins over limited opposition following a four-bout losing streak. The Mexican’s last meaningful victory was more than six years ago, the aforementioned decision over Pacquiao.
Somehow, Morales staved off time for one night with a vintage display of blood, guts and balls. He absorbed plenty of hellacious Maidana power shots and kept coming back for more. The underdog’s right eye was completely shut by the end of Round 2, but even with one eye he never stopped pushing forward.
Maidana threw nearly 1,000 punches — about double Morales’ output — but what “El Terrible” lacked at that stage, he made up for with in-ring guile as he was able to counter the hard-charging fighter over and over.
“Chino” grabbed the nod on the judges’ scorecards, but this was a close fight, a fitting last stand for one of boxing’s greatest all-time warriors, and one of the sport’s most rewatchable fights almost 10 years later.
Date: April 9, 2011
Location: MGM Grand, Las Vegas
Division: Junior welterweight
Network: HBO PPV
(Top design by Tom Slator)
