Here Comes the Payne 06.29.09: British Boxing Blackout

Posted by Michael Payne on 06.29.2009

In this week's edition I look back at the lack of TV coverage in Britain for boxing and debating what the future holds for the sport. I will also give you the rundown on another British prospect you may have already heard of before.



TV Blackout

British boxing at the moment is in a worrying position because fewer and fewer fights are being shown on TV. Setanta sports who were a major contributor to the sport on TV have now folded. Setanta have been responsible for bringing big fights from the US to British fight fans without having to pay large pay per view bills but there ambition has caused them to owe far too much due to there aim to compete with Sky Sports on a football front as well as being the self styled home of British boxing and the broadcaster of all major UFC events. ITV have done a great job in bringing us quality British fights and helping to raise the profile of lesser know British fighters, but I have heard reports they will not be renewing there current Boxing TV rights deal. Sky Sports still have there share of Boxing coverage but top fights are charged at a premium with pay per view costs, this results in only big boxing fans paying to see them. The BBC on the other hand doesn't seem interested in boxing anymore. So if this trend continues what will it mean to the sport in the UK?

Recently Carl Froch fought Jermain Taylor in his first defense of his Super Middleweight title. I big fight for British TV you would think! No! whether it was due to TV companies not being interested of Mick Hennessey asking for too much money is irrelevant, this fight should have been on British TV but instead fans had too buy this on a pay per view basis online via a live stream from American coverage. It was top quality footage and easy to buy but only dedicated fans would have brought it.

Junior Witter can be a frustrating fighter with undoubted talent but has not always performed at the top level. He is currently training to go head to head with Devon Alexander for the WBC super middleweight title, but at the time of going to press no TV stations in Britain seem interested in televising it. At a time when Britain has a lack of world champions this should be a fight they should be fighting over.

My concern is that if the only time fights will be available is via expensive pay per view TV or internet deals how can the sport grow in the UK? Where will the next Ricky Hatton come from? The only people to watch boxing will be hardcore boxing fans. People who are just occasional fans will not fork out to watch fights on pay per view. This will reduce the number of fans in the UK. Ricky Hatton did establish great fame while spending the majority of his time fighting on Sky on pay per view but this is rare. We need to showcase our up and coming fighters to home audiences on prime time TV. In the past the likes of Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank achieved great fame through having brilliant fights on mainstream TV. Casual boxing fans got to see this and became big fans. I remember being young watching boxing on mainstream TV and being captivated. If the same fights were on pay per view I doubt I would be the big fan I am today.

So what is the future? Sky Sports? The Internet? Or a blackout and British fans loosing out? I see internet coverage being bigger business in the future. Sky will continue there coverage but if they have the monopoly on the sport then this will result in them charging what they want, hitting the boxing fan in the pocket and the lack of casual fans watching the sport. Also as this will be mainly the top class fighters we will see little of the new breed of fighters coming through the ranks. I really hope ITV keep there commitment to boxing and continue to show case good up and coming fighters. Also someone else needs to take up Setanta's position as competition to Sky showcasing top fights that are not just pay per view. This needs to happen not only for boxing fans but to increase the number of young British fighters. If kids cannot follow the sport they won't be drawn to stepping in the gym and this would be bad news for British boxing and boxing in general.


Is Fury the Future?

Ok that's my rant over with. Now I will look at another Brit looking for world domination. This weeks fighter: Tyson Fury, will be well known to a lot of you. Tyson has all the makings of a world class fighter. He has a name like he is from a Rocky movie, he is 6 feet 7 inches tall and he is the son of former British heavyweight "gypsy" John Fury. The 21 year old heavyweight has had 6 fights winning all by stoppage. After seeing his first fight in Nottingham on the Carl Froch vs Jean Pascal under card I wasn't sure what to make of him. He didn't look in top shape and battered a blown up cruiserweight in one round who had little to offer. Since then he has increased his level of opposition and looks fitter and stronger with every fight. In his last fight he beat Scott Belshaw in 2 rounds after twice putting him down in the opening round. Tyson is improving with ever fight and looks set to fight for the British title soon. He has upset some people with is boasts about who he could beat, but in this business that puts bums on seats whether they want him to win or loose. Looking at the heavyweight division in this country I don't see too many who he would struggle against.

At the top of the domestic pile here currently are Sam Sexton and Martin Rogan, both of who I see Tyson being able to beat. Another unbeaten Brit on the scene is Derek Chisora. This would make a good clash and again I see Tyson winning. Fury is a long way from the world stage at the moment and has not yet earned the right to be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of the Klitschko's or David Haye but mark my words he will soon. I don't know yet how much of a force he will become because its hard to judge based on where he is now but he is my tip for winning a version of the world title at some point down the line. I am looking forward to seeing him step up a gear and see how he fairs against other young contenders and moving away from the journeymen fighters. Then we will see what he is really made of.