HBO, Showtime in heavyweight broadcast battle
IT tells you something about the interest in boxing’s heavyweight division when an overseas non-title fight between two non-Americans will be televised live on HBO. Dillian Whyte (22-1, 16 KOs) of the United Kingdom faces Lucas Browne (25-0, 22 KOs) of Australia on Saturday in a bout scheduled for 12 rounds at O2 Arena in London.
It’s telling HBO purchased the rights to air the bout in the U.S. with the live telecast set to begin at 6 p.m. with a replay at 10 p.m. Showtime has been the home of most of the major heavyweight bouts in recent years, including the rise of champions Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.
Wilder, the WBC champion, from Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Joshua, the IBF and WBA belt-holder from the U,K., appear headed toward a showdown for the undisputed heavyweight championship later this year or early next year. HBO and Showtime are already positioning themselves to make serious bids to distribute that bout.
Showtime has been the recent home of heavyweight boxing with 11 big-boy fights within the past three years with many of those bouts featuring Wilder or Joshua. Wilder attracted more than 1.2 million viewers in his two most recent title defenses against Bermane Stiverne and Luis Ortiz. Joshua, a popular draw in the U.K., will defend his titles against WBO champion Anthony Parker next Saturday in Wales on Showtime.
But a potential WilderJoshua bout remains a network free agent with Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchboxing, heading negotiations on the network deal.
Hearn is also the promoter of Whyte-Browne. Connect the dots and it is not hard to see the motive behind HBO broadcasting Saturday’s fight from London. Joshua, however, may have offered a preference during a conference call this week when he said, “Showtime has been riding with me for six fights, a quarter of my career. And we’re headed towards the undis- puted heavyweight championship of the world.”
Browne and Whyte think they’re heading in that direction, too, though Whyte was stopped in the seventh round by Joshua in December 2015.
“Topping the bill as a star is what I’ve been working for,” Whyte said. “Nothing good comes easy.”
Hearn also promotes former middleweight world champion Daniel Jacobs of Brooklyn, who fights April 28 at Barclays Center. The HBO telecast that night will also feature a heavyweight bout between Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (20-0-1, 18 KOs) of Brooklyn against Johann Duhaupas (37-4, 24 KOs) of France. Hearn already has talked about the possibility of matching Joshua against Miller before facing Wilder. HBO and Showtime will wage their own battle for those fights, too.
Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater will host the “Ring Masters Championships” on April 20. It will feature the best amateur boxers in the metro area with the winners advancing to the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Omaha, Neb., in May.
Those appearing at the Hulu Theater will qualify through what is being called “The Road to the Garden.” Amateur boxers from 8 years old and up are currently competing at 17 qualifying shows at various venues around New York City, Westchester and Long Island. USA Boxing Metro is sanctioning the competition. Tickets for the championships range from $35 to $100 and are available at the usual outlets.
“We have almost 600 athletes competing,” said Metro president and world champion boxer Sonya Lamonakis. “We’ve had a great turnout selling out every show, and the best thing is the finals will be at the Garden.