When The Curtain Falls…

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

An opinion piece from the only Donald worth listening to…

Full Stop – In British English grammar a full stop is a lengthy pause, in the US, you call it a period. In the UK that tends to suggest feminine products. Here it means a period of time where I look at something in boxing in a little more depth. I am typing from my perspective of a fan who watches the sport closely. It’s an opinion. It is my opinion. Don’t like it? There are other opinions out there but if you don’t like it then good, debate and democracy are a good thing. If you do like it, feel free to spread the word.

When the curtain falls…

Broadcasters and their promoters have always been, to the non-boxing fan, a bit of a conundrum. There’s is a simplistic view of sports – the best v the best is the cry. But do the best get to the top of the NFL every year? Do the best two tennis players in the world end up in each of the finals of every major tournament? Is the soccer world cup won each time by the best team in the tournament? Well, no, but you know where you are with it all. There is a format and a formula that the average Joe can follow.

If only they cry, that was true in boxing. Throw into the mix of who manages who, who promotes them and then which broadcaster they appear on, and the confusion is just too mind numbing for average sports fans. It leads to many to go, stuff this I would rather watch chess under water than try and understand why it is that Tyson Fury is fighting an MMA guy.

And so, after 37 years Showtime has pulled down the curtain on their time in boxing. A broadcaster has followed Elvis out the building. In 2023 they provided us with Ryan Garcia against Tank Davis and the biggest boxing fight, in terms that true boxing fans can understand – Crawford/Spence Jr. It will be argued by some that this means that the landscape is much better for it, as promotional partner, PBC who promote Davis and Canelo are now in the market for a new televisual outlet. Perhaps they can partner with an existing promotional team, cement some of the big match ups which the boxing public want to see as their fighters could get closer to other fighters and we get more of what we want…
Well, after all, it is Christmas soon and Santa may be coming down the chimney…
In the UK we are rather blessed with coverage at the moment with Boxxer/Sky, TNT/Queensberry, Wasserman/Channel Five, DAZN/Matchroom and some small hall material on YouTube courtesy of a number of small-time broadcasters including IFL TV. You do see some collaboration as some boxers will appear on rival broadcasters though promoted by rival promoters, but negotiations can be rancorous and public, leaving the paying customer confused, dazed and put off the sport. Paying customers want to know that X will fight Y for Z on the nth of A and that it will be for a title. That title is B and we all sit waiting to see who wins so that the next fight against C is made in the next 6 months. In fact, that second fight is already on the schedule, and we know that it shall happen – unless someone gets injured.

Simple.

But in a sport filled with egos, lacking a moral authority to regulate it and a plethora of belts, titles, levels, venues, controversy, drug rumors and the like it is very much not simple.

And whilst Bernard Hopkins has welcomed Showtime leaving the sport, as well as some significant other boxers, there are a few with warnings and alarming comments. Teofimo Lopez talked of older heads thinking they can just keep doing the same thing and if we do not change boxing will have no broadcast deals at some point in the future. A cautious note of optimism emerged from Oscar De La Hoya who took up the theme of change and hoped it would lead to more collaboration.

It is clearly a moment in time, a period in which to reflect, an opportunity for change and to build. I do not think that opportunity shall be taken. I think we shall have some lovely press comments praising Showtime and remembering golden times when, along with HBO, they were THE place to see fights – that has already happened. Then people shall speculate on the opportunities to capitalize on one or two world level fighters now wanting to make a match up with another world level fighter from another promoter – that has also already begun. Then three/six/nine months down the line people will lament the loss of Showtime, the lack of change and moan about the level of competition on our screens. Why? Because whilst PBC needs a new home, boxing is really bad at heeding warnings. The loss of a major US broadcaster is a warning shot. Boxing, which is apparently thriving, is not seen as viable future broadcast partner of a major US network.

If we want to arrest THAT development, we need to move from circuses and make things a lot more serious – more Crawford/ Spence Jr and less Fury /Ngannou please!!!

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