HBO’s Turn To Produce After Showtime’s Octoberfest
By Jake Donovan
As far back as when the decision was made to outbid the rest of the industry, HBO has been looked upon as the biggest game in town.
It held true when they raised the financial bar to where the free networks could no longer compete. It was once again true after Mike Tyson’s second career fizzled, functionally putting an end to Showtime’s place in the pay-per-view market.
From the moment we entered the 21st Century, HBO further distance itself from the pack, to where the question was no longer whether it was the biggest entity in boxing, but if it was on the verge of becoming its only major player.
Meanwhile, Showtime found itself on the wrong end of “peaks and valleys” for good portions of this decade, and their “Great Fights, No Rights” movement didn’t exactly pan out the way everyone expected. Some hits here and there, but there still remain plenty of pugilists whom remain defined as “Showtime fighters.”
Then came 2009.
It was a year in which HBO, after years of threatening to trim down on the number of pay-per-view events it hosts, finally made good on the promise. We went more than four months without having to pay $50 for a fight, and received some damn good fights on regular HBO.
That was, until summer arrived.
From the moment Victor Ortiz pulled his “No mas”, the same seemed to be uttered from HBO Boxing’s scheduling department.
The past four months have offered just three boxing telecasts presented by HBO, only two of which weren’t at a premium. All of that makes for one unacceptable equation.
HBO’s month-long absence from the sport in October couldn’t have come at a worse time. Threats of Showtime seriously closing the gap have loomed for quite a while.
Then came the official launching of the Super Six World Boxing Classic super middleweight round robin tournament. The rave reviews followed in celebrating one of four separate weekends in which Showtime aired a live boxing card.
The most recent came this past weekend, ending its Octoberfest with a bang as Yonnhy Perez and Joseph King Kong Abeko offered everything they had and then some in a terrific 12-round bantamweight scrap. When all was said and done, a title changed hands as Perez left Las Vegas with a well-earned, albeit a bit too wide, unanimous decision, and fans were left hoping for 12 more rounds between the same two combatants sometime in the very near future.
Here comes November, and it’s now HBO forced to play catch-up. Lucky for the self-proclaimed Network of Champions, they’ve remembered to come locked and loaded.
This weekend’s edition of World Championship Boxing has undefeated light heavyweight Chad Dawson squaring off against Glen Johnson in a rematch to their April 2008 encounter. Dawson escaped with a unanimous decision, though more than a few in the media believed the fight could’ve just as easily went to the veteran Johnson.
One week later brings us arguably the year’s most anticipated pay-per-view event, when Manny Pacquiao attempts to become the first fighter in boxing history to capture a title – lineal or alphabet – in a seventh separate weight class. Standing in the way of the current super lightweight king is two-time welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto, in a fight many are having just as difficult time predicting a winner as they’re having an easy time believing it to be a can’t miss action fight well worth the price of admission.
Two weeks later, HBO’s Boxing After Dark heads north of the border for the first time in the history of the series, as Lucian Bute and Librado Andrade engage in a return go to their controversial title fight a year ago.
On paper, the three aforementioned cards should help atone for the fact that boxing hasn’t hit HBO’s airwaves in six weeks.
Though left to carry the sport on its back for the past month, Showtime doesn’t plan to go on hiatus anytime soon. Two more shows are planned this month, including the final leg of the opening round of the Super Six on November 21 – the one weekend in the six that doesn’t feature a live boxing card on HBO, though it will undoubtedly run the exclusive rebroadcast of the Cotto-Pacquiao pay-per-view headliner.
Including the replay, HBO has every weekend covered in terms of chances to remind the masses that they’re still in charge.
Let’s hope for the network’s – and boxing’s – sake that it proves to be a November to remember, after rolling over in October.
STUMBLING DOWN THE STRETCH IN DECEMBER
As boxing fans brace themselves for boxing’s offerings during sweeps months, HBO is trying desperately to piece together its December schedule.
The same fight that helped put a hole in HBO’s October schedule – Kelly Pavlik vs. Paul Williams – once again left a void to fill, this time on a December 5 date that was previously occupied by Shane Mosley.
Williams is still slated to appear, though no longer for a shot at the middleweight crown. He instead faces Sergio Martinez in a non-title fight in a venue to be determined.
What’s also being worked out is the evening’s co-feature. Because the date now belongs to Dan Goossen and Al Haymon, the lead-in slot has been given to Chris Arreola, fresh off of his one-sided stoppage loss to Vitali Klitschko in a failed bid to become the first ever fighter of Mexican descent to capture a heavyweight belt.
Several names have been tossed around for Arreola’s comeback opponent du jour, including Brian Minto, Derric Rossy and Malik “80-72” Scott.
In reading those names, two things come to mind.
First, while Arreola is perhaps deserving of a soft touch after the shellacking he took against Klitschko, what he’s apparently not worthy of is the prime real estate that is an HBO date.
Second, in potentially getting Arreola-Rossy/Scott/Minto, we are reminded of the co-feature that was lost – Joshua Clottey versus Carlos Quintana in a battle of ex-welterweight titlists.
The politics of the sport have given us the excuse that because Pavlik is off the show and Top Rank is no longer the promoter of record, that Clottey-Quintana simply becomes an unfortunate casualty.
Far too many have accepted this reason, but I offer the following examples to the contrary:
Andre Berto (DiBella Entertainment) facing Stevie Forbes (pimped out by Tournament of Contenders) as the supporting bout to Golden Boy-promoted Shane Mosley’s knockout of Ricardo Mayorga, who is handled (relatively speaking) by Don King.
Vernon Forrest (Gary Shaw) avenging a loss to Sergio Mora (Tournament of Contenders) on a pay-per-view show headlined by Juan Manuel Marquez’ lightweight title win over Joel Casamayor, which was presented by Golden Boy Promotions.
Edison Miranda (Warriors Boxing) decisioning Allan Green (then represented by Holden Promotions) on a Top Rank card featuring Miguel Cotto’s stoppage win of Oktay Urkal.
Ike Quartey (DiBella) fought Verno Phillips (Banner Promotions) on an undercard to Antonio Tarver’s rematch win over Glen Johnson in a main event presented by Star Boxing and Goossen-Tutor Promotions.
You get the idea. Apparently others don’t, otherwise they’d actually think for a second before accepting what’s being presented on (and omitted from) December 5 at face value.
Meanwhile, plans are still being worked out to find a home for the December 12 rematch between Juan Diaz and Paul Malignaggi. Las Vegas has become the latest front runner, which is probably a good thing.
Not that this fight sells in the desert (or anywhere besides Houston, but we know why they can’t go back there), but with such a fight only six weeks away, it can’t really land anywhere but a casino, the industry’s favorite contingency plan to actually promoting an event
