Boxing searching for TV’S winning formula
Joshua’s bout prompted howls of frustration that show how hard it is to keep paying viewers happy, writes Alan Tyers
Decent enough watching, but ultimately not fully satisfying: an assessment that applies not only to Anthony Joshua’s stoppage of Carlos Takam, but to the Sky Box Office pay-perview experience in general.
It should be said that Saturday was not quite one of those PPV nights that leaves the viewer shaking their fist at Eddie Hearn’s face on the telly and vowing “never again”. Yes, the undercard was thin. Yes, there were technical difficulties that meant viewers could not see a couple of the bouts. And yes, there were fighters plucked from God knows where at the 11th hour. And all right then, yes, Katie Taylor’s opponent had failed to make the weight, meaning that she could not take the belt back to Argentina no matter what happened.
OK, yes, there were some dull matches. But when Takam ducked his head down and then lifted it into Joshua’s face in the second round, breaking his nose, the main event immediately gained at least the potential for a major upset.
As a whole, the evening had its moments, not least the crowning of Taylor, a heroine and a star, as a world champion.
The debate about whether the AJ fight ought to have been stopped when it was I will leave to the experts. Co-commentator Carl Froch summed it up neatly: “The sensible people who watch boxing would not argue with that stoppage. The barbarians, and I am a barbarian, want a dramatic finish. It is a matter of what you like.”
The problem with televised boxing, exacerbated when you have forked over your hardearned on the actual night, is that it usually feels like it should have either lasted longer, or been over quicker. It would have been more exciting to see Joshua knock Takam out in the first couple of rounds.
It would have been more just, more substantial, for the brave super-sub to have been afforded the dignity of seeing it through to a decision. Then again, needing the judges’ verdict would have been a minor blot on AJ’S copybook. And if you’ve paid 20 quid for an entertainment event, you might reasonably want it to last more than a couple of minutes. Timing is all, and timing is tricky.
Sky have got very good at adding value around the events with the pre-match hoopla, sharp presenters and some excellent pundits. Johnny Nelson and especially Tony Bellew and Matt Macklin are outspoken, opinionated, and close to the contemporary action: in Bellew’s case obviously still active in it. This gives their insights a bite that puts to shame the studio-comfy, uncritically pally analysis of some other sports.
One of boxing’s peculiarities is that a fighter’s reputation, like Takam’s, often grows in defeat in a way you don’t see so often in other sports; likewise, there are victories that feel uninspired, such as AJ’S this time, or even cheap. And, of course, the sport’s judging mechanism for sorting out inconclusive bouts has a sweeping history of incompetence, bias and outright fraud.
The most elemental and simple of all sports – who can bash the opponent into unconsciousness or submission first? – boxing has the most complex matrix for producing a great TV event.
There were some howls of frustration on social media at the close of the evening, as there always are with PPV. But what precise outcome, ultimately, would be the one that sent the punter off to bed happy?
A fight usually feels like it should have either lasted longer or been over quicker