Analysis: Prime-time network boxing off to strong start
LAS VEGAS -- It is difficult to cast something as "value for money" if it was free to begin with. So, good as it was, boxing's return to network television on Saturday night cannot be so described.
But what the opening night of Premier Boxing Champions, the ambitious project from boxing's mystery powerbroker Al Haymon, proved to be, was value for time. And, even in this punishing game that has long held cold, hard cash as the ultimate focus of worship, that might turn out to be the ultimate prize of all.
Haymon, whose behind the scenes machinations have guided the career of Floyd Mayweather and more than 100 other boxers, but who is secretive and elusive enough to be able to walk the Strip unbothered, created the concept of a network television boxing series in his own mind, then thumped down $20 million to buy the requisite time slots on several channels.
Saturday's NBC show from the MGM Grand was not just opening night but also the start of the experiment and Haymon, whose philosophy seems to mix pure number crunching with hunch and instinct, could scarcely have dreamed of such a positive outcome.
For the main event between Keith Thurman and Robert Guerrero was everything needed to appeal to the masses and get them to come back for more, a rollicking, barn-burning slugfest that gave entertainment in spades.
Prime-time television has little place for technical chess matches played out within the confines of a ring; that's for the boxing purists. If the mainstream is to be persuaded away from singing wannabes or dragon-slaying warlocks or reality shows about reality shows or whatever else constitutes popular television these days, the fight game needs to pack a punch, literally.
Thurman and Guerrero certainly did that, battering each other with such ferocity and heart that the Las Vegas crowd of a little more than 10,000 leapt to their feet en masse on more than one occasion, screaming in support.
Thurman emerged as the victor, winning a unanimous points decision, but while he retained his WBA welterweight belt he may not feel much like a champ on Sunday morning. The 26-year-old from Clearwater, Fla., was taken to the hospital after the bout to treat a grotesque swelling on his left temple that grew from the time an accidental headbutt caused it in the third round.
Once the headache subsides, Thurman can reflect on a job well done, both for himself and his career. If Premier Boxing Champions builds upon its strong first outing and becomes a regular fixture, then the men who star in it can use network exposure as a springboard into the sport's elite circles.
Even Guerrero, who was knocked down by one of Thurman's countless powerful blows in the ninth round, but bounced up swinging and competed hard until the very end, likely benefited from this.
Becoming a star in this series will be about entertainment in the ring. Boxing fans have been tortured for too long, teased with the prospect of Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao for five years only to be charged nearly $100 for the pay-per-view privilege when it finally does happen.
Mayweather is the runaway star of the sport but so much of the Floyd show is about his lifestyle and his cash and cars and provocative words. His bouts have been full of technical brilliance, but have rarely been described as thrilling sporting theater.
Free fights, and really good ones at that, must feel like a wonderfully surreal experience to the long suffering hardcore fight fan, and could change the very fabric of the game.
Thurman and even the defeated Guerrero will have emerged with their reputations greatly enhanced. Bigger paydays and greater opportunities await, especially for the victor.
Thurman is naturally a strong puncher and a knockout specialist, but there was a concerted effort from both men to engage and it paid off for them.
On the flip side, the opening fight of the telecast, Adrien Broner's forgettable victory over John Molina, was the opposite. Broner is brash and arrogant in his persona and operates with a defensive style of the Mayweather ilk.
The crowd in the arena didn't like it, and it is a fair bet those watching at home weren't enamored either as the boos rained down towards the end of the contest.
Broner admitted he'd had a decision to make; stand and trade with the hard-hitting tough guy Molina, or use his superior speed, elusiveness and ring craft to dictate the fight. The latter won out.
"The crowd might boo me but going out there and fighting for them won't pay my bills," he said. "I did what I had to do to get the victory."
Whether that victory means more than another digit in his win column remains to be seen. On this evidence, there won't be much widespread clamor for his next contest.
Haymon's brainchild though, thanks to Thurman and Guerrero, is off to a flying start. It will take a long time to deliver a knockout blow to the American mainstream's boxing apathy but this at least was a bloodied nose for the doubters and naysayers.
Boxing, for now at least, is back in prime time and will live or die on whether it provides a compelling enough product to lure in an audience that didn't realize it cared. These are the earliest of days, but the signs are good.