Boxing 2022

[Byrnie]

I would have went to that card tonight, but I'd have gotten myself into trouble for cheering for Gill.

[Kevin D]

3 hours ago, Byrnie said:

No power and can't take a punch. That's him done now, surely. When Adam Booth walks away from easy money, you know its time to hang them up. 

 

 

100% true, but can you beat that ring walk?

 

 

[Byrnie]

5 hours ago, Kevin D said:

100% true, but can you beat that ring walk?

 

 

 

 

Him coming out to Celtic Symphony in New York was a belter. 

[Kevin D]

https://danrafael.substack.com/p/pbc-headed-to-amazon-prime-video
 

A week before Premier Boxing Champions puts on its final Showtime card it announced a multiyear rights agreement with Amazon Prime Video to replace it on Thursday.

 

The deal has been expected for weeks as it was an open secret in the boxing industry that the sides were negotiating a deal.

PBC boss Al Haymon needed a new platform because Paramount Global, the parent company of longtime PBC broadcaster Showtime, announced in mid-October that it would shutter the Showtime Sports department, including getting rid of the boxing franchise that was its cornerstone for the entirety of its 37-year existence.

 

“Premier Boxing Champions is very proud to partner with Prime Video to showcase our world-class boxers and events,” said Bruce Binkow, the CEO of Integrated Sports, which is the exclusive agency for PBC.  “With Prime’s incredible reach and unprecedented marketing power, we’re very excited to reach new audiences for our sport as we continue to present the most exciting, competitive and biggest fights in boxing.”

 

Prime Video is available to nearly 160 million customers in the United States through their Amazon Prime accounts.

Prime Video’s involvement in live sports includes its high-profile deal to stream a weekly NFL game but it has expressed interest in expanding its exclusive sports offerings.

 

The announcement of the boxing deal, which will begin in March, will include 12 to 14 events annually, sources with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite. That number of events is a combination of pay-per-views and non-pay-per-views, meaning fewer events per year than Showtime, which has partnered with PBC since Haymon founded it in 2015, typically put on.

 

“We are thrilled to join with Premier Boxing Champions to bring the best boxers in the world to Prime Video, and to give more fans than ever the chance to experience these must-see events,” said Marie Donoghue, Amazon’s vice president of U.S. sports content and partnerships. “With live coverage of PBC action throughout the calendar year, Prime Video continues to bring viewers in the U.S. and around the world the best in sports.”

 

Terms of the deal, including the number of years, were not disclosed but Prime Video will distribute PBC’s pay-per-view events headlined by star fighters such as Canelo Alvarez, Gervonta Davis, Terence Crawford and David Benavidez, in the United States.

Also, Prime Video will exclusively stream a non-pay-per-view “PBC Championship Boxing series of events, showcasing top matchups among boxing’s current and rising stars. Details on specific cards, dates, and locations will be announced at a later date. In addition to the live PBC events, Prime Video will continue to grow its original sports content offerings, with behind-the-scenes PBC docuseries, live weigh-ins, as well as on-demand access to previous events, highlights, archival footage, and more.”

 

According to sources, the non-PPV cards and original programming will also be available to Prime Video customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

 

Besides being able to buy pay-per-view events through Prime Video, even without a Prime membership, fans will still be able to buy them on linear television though their cable or satellite provider as well as digitally on PPV.com.

 

PBC and Showtime put on a series of major pay-per-view events in 2023, including the blockbuster Davis-Ryan Garcia fight, Davis-Hector Luis Garcia, Alvarez-Jermell Charlo, Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. and Benavidez against Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade.

 

PBC had one year remaining on its deal with Showtime, which, according to a source, is buying out the final year of the deal for at least $10 million.

 

Showtime will air its final PBC event on Dec. 16, a tripleheader from The Armory in Minneapolis, where hometown fighter David Morrell will defend the WBA “regular” super middleweight title against Sena Agbeko in the main event; lightweights Chris Colbert and Jose Valenzuela will meet in a rematch; and Julio Cesar Martinez will defend the WBC flyweight title versus Angelino Cordova.

[sir roger]

That'll be good for me as I already have Prime.

I am getting too old for 5am live events though, so hopefully they do 10 or11 am 'as live' reruns.

[Kevin D]

 

[Kevin D]

 

[sir roger]

The old guy at the back, with the thousand yard stare, to avoid the spare room

[Kevin D]

Andy Cruz really looked like the real deal last night.

[Kevin D]

 

[Curly]

4 minutes ago, Kevin D said:

 

I’ve not seen the card, but the only one of those 2 fights that interests me is Parker Wilder. Interested to see if someone tough who can box can cause wilder some issues

[Bjornebye]

48 minutes ago, Curly said:

I’ve not seen the card, but the only one of those 2 fights that interests me is Parker Wilder. Interested to see if someone tough who can box can cause wilder some issues

 

Bivol v Arthur and Dubois v Miller. Decent card. 

[Lee909]

4 minutes ago, Bjornebye said:

 

Bivol v Arthur and Dubois v Miller. Decent card. 

 

Still not PPV worthy

 

Arthur has done nothing except being cleaned out by Yarde in 4 rounds 

 

Miller best win since his ban(in the last 5 years) is Lucas Browne another drug cheat

 

 

[Bjornebye]

Just now, Lee909 said:

 

Still not PPV worthy

 

Arthur has done nothing except being cleaned out by Yarde in 4 rounds 

 

Miller best win since his ban(in the last 5 years) is Lucas Browne another drug cheat

 

 

 

Hahaha pay for it. As if 

[Curly]

2 hours ago, Bjornebye said:

 

Bivol v Arthur and Dubois v Miller. Decent card. 

Nice one. Bivol Arthur will be a huge mismatch and Miller Dubois could end up being absolutely anything, but I’m not interested at all.

 

There was some cunt on the radio saying how mad it was they had merged promoters and made this mad never seen before level of super card. I was flicking so didn’t hear who, but now assume

it was someone from one of the promotions.

 

Im a bit low on interest with it these days - I probably won’t even stream this

[Bjornebye]

1 hour ago, Curly said:

Nice one. Bivol Arthur will be a huge mismatch and Miller Dubois could end up being absolutely anything, but I’m not interested at all.

 

There was some cunt on the radio saying how mad it was they had merged promoters and made this mad never seen before level of super card. I was flicking so didn’t hear who, but now assume

it was someone from one of the promotions.

 

Im a bit low on interest with it these days - I probably won’t even stream this

 

Watching Bivol is always fun. Intrigued to see what Wilder has going on. Not arsed about Joshua, more cannon fodder for him as ever. 

[Kevin D]

It’s that time, again:

 

https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/39107266/sources-ex-champs-wilder-joshua-reach-deal-march-9-clash
 

Former heavyweight champions Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder have a deal in place to fight on March 9 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, sources told ESPN.

 

The sides agreed on the money, sources said, but they both must come out victorious and uninjured in separate bouts on Dec. 23 in Saudi Arabia's capital to finalize a bout that was first discussed in 2019.

 

Joshua fights Otto Wallin in the Dec. 23 main event in Riyadh while Wilder meets former heavyweight titleholder Joseph Parker. It's far from a foregone conclusion that either Joshua or Wilder wins their respective bouts ahead of a potential showdown that will be one of the biggest in all of boxing.

 

"The reason that fight is happening with both on the same night is to prepare for and build a fight between the two," Joshua's longtime promoter, Eddie Hearn, told ESPN on Thursday in San Francisco. "So, the contracts aren't signed, talks continue. But everybody wants to make that fight.

 

" ... Everyone's saying, 'well why are you fighting a tough fight before Deontay Wilder?' That was the fight that was proposed to us from Saudi. Joshua's never turned down a fight. Wallin's been on our list for the last two fights. The only reason we haven't boxed him is because he's a southpaw. So, to fight a southpaw on six weeks' notice with a new trainer, not ideal, but [the Saudis] like the fight. They fancy the fight. Fingers crossed."

 

Just two months ago, WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury survived a scare in Riyadh when he was knocked down by former UFC-star-turned-boxer Francis Ngannou, before hanging on to score a split-decision victory to move onto an undisputed heavyweight championship fight with Oleksandr Usyk. The Fury-Usyk deal was announced ahead of time and planned for Dec. 23 before Fury's far-tougher-than-expected outing.

 

Joshua, ESPN's No. 4 heavyweight, is just a -425 favorite against Wallin, per ESPN BET. The Olympic gold medalist from England will be trained by Ben Davison for the first time following two bouts with Derrick James in his corner.

 

Joshua's career-best win came in 2017, when he survived a knockdown to score an 11th-round TKO of Hall of Famer Wladimir Klitschko. The victory at a sold-out Wembley Stadium was named ESPN's 2017 Fight of the Year. Joshua also owns a win over Parker but hasn't resembled the same fighter since a seventh-round TKO loss to Andy Ruiz in June 2019.

 

Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) regained his three heavyweight titles six months later in a rematch with Ruiz in Riyadh. Back-to-back decision losses to Usyk followed.

 

The 34-year-old is riding a two-fight winning streak but struggled at times before he scored a seventh-round knockout of Robert Helenius in August. Helenius was brutally knocked out by Wilder in one round in the American's most-recent bout.

 

"If he is overlooking me, so much better for me," Wallin, a 33-year-old Swede who fights out of New York, told ESPN on Tuesday. "And if it's true that they have the fight with Wilder made, I think that's a great thing. He has to come out and look good in his fight, and when he won't, he's going to get frustrated.

 

" ... The only reason they would have a rematch clause is because they're afraid that he's going to lose. ... So, I feel like as soon as you poke Joshua a little bit, Eddie Hearn is not happy."

 

Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs) is rated No. 10 by ESPN and is coming off a career-best victory, a split-decision over former cruiserweight champion Murat Gassiev in September.

Wallin has been in a similar spot before. He served as a tune-up for Fury in September 2019 ahead of a planned clash with Wilder the following year. Wallin threatened to win the bout and caused a cut that left Fury with 47 stitches above his right eye. "I feel like I have no pressure, just go in there, have fun just like I did with Fury," he said. " ... [Joshua] knows that he is vulnerable and he knows that he can get hurt and dropped and stopped and lose fights. ... What made him good was that he was aggressive, good puncher and seeking a stoppage type of guy. But he's changed a lot and he's lost some of what made him good."

 

Wilder, ESPN's No. 3 heavyweight, is also in tough. The 38-year-old is a -700 favorite, per ESPN BET, to defeat Parker on Dec. 23. Wilder is perhaps the biggest puncher in heavyweight championship history. All but one of his victories came via KO, and he stopped Bermane Stiverne in the first round of their rematch.

 

And while he is winless in his trilogy with Fury, Wilder floored Fury four times across the first and third bouts. That third fight with Fury in November 2021, which Wilder lost via 11th-round KO, was named ESPN's Fight of the Year and KO of the Year.

 

Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) has fought only one round since, a first-round KO of Helenius in October 2022.

 

Parker, meanwhile, is rated No. 8 by ESPN at heavyweight. The 31-year-old from New Zealand has scored three victories over limited opposition following an 11th-round KO loss to Joe Joyce in September 2022.

Parker (33-3, 23 KOs) scored a majority-decision victory over Ruiz in 2016 to capture a vacant title but dropped the belt to Joshua via decision three fights later.

 

"I know Parker has had his defeats, but he's in a good place at the moment and Wilder's coming off a long bout of inactivity," said Hearn. "If Parker can get through four, five rounds, that ain't that easy either. So, if they both win, I think we'll get it."

 

 

[Jairzinho]

Quote

It's far from a foregone conclusion that either Joshua or Wilder wins their respective bouts

 

1/5 and 2/7 respectively. Mind you, that 2/7 is the biggest price for any favourite on the card.

[Kevin D]

https://www.boxingscene.com/president-french-boxing-league-resigns-controversial-comments-on-tony-yoka-judges--180004
 

Dolpierre’s resignation was accepted by Dominique Nato, the president of the Federation Francaise de Boxe (FFBOXE), the body which governs amateur and professional boxing in France.

 

Dolpierre found himself in the hot seat after he told L’Equipe, a French newspaper, that the French judges for the Yoka vs. Merhy contest should have “helped out” Yoka because he was the hometown fighter—an unofficial custom that other countries, Dolpierre insisted, carried out with regularity. In a statement, Nato said his organization is in “total opposition” to Dolpierre’s claims.

 

“Dupas was right (in his scorecard),” Dolpierre said. “Yoka needed help, but his head was pushed under water. How can he come back after three defeats? In England, in a similar fight, the local boxer would have won. When I saw Yoka almost in tears, after they announced the result, that hurt my heart. We could have at least given him a draw.

 

“Of course, he barely lost. I know he didn’t do much, that he worked on just one move. But in France, that’s worth a draw. Besides, when the announcer gave the scorecards, Merhy himself was surprised that he won. I’ve seen so many French fighters get robbed fighting abroad, and it doesn’t bother anyone. But here, we’re not capable of helping out a fighter. We’re afraid of the public, above all. I stand by what I say.

 

“You think that if the promoter of Yoka had been Michel Acariès (the most powerful French promoter between 1980 and 2010) and not Jerome Abiteboul, that two judges would have given the victory to Merhy? We’ve done more harm to boxing than if we had given the win [to Yoka].”

 

Dolpierre’s interview will do little to improve the reputation of boxing as a perpetually corrupt racket, especially given that Dolpierre is not a bystander but an active player in the sport who has officiated fights for over two decades. His last assignment was in May of last year.

 

“I agree that the judges aren’t there to help [fighters],” Dolpierre continued. “But Yoka will be a great champion someday, even if I don’t know when. Today he needed help. A defeat would have changed nothing for the Belgian, who is going to go back down to cruiserweight because he himself said he’s not a true heavyweight. So what was the point of knocking out Yoka?”

[Elite]

Simon Jordan interviewing Eubank on YouTube is a great listen, won't let me embed due to an emoji in the title.

 

Anyway, fascinating character is the Sheriff.

[Kevin D]

 

[Remmie]

8 hours ago, Elite said:

Simon Jordan interviewing Eubank on YouTube is a great listen, won't let me embed due to an emoji in the title.

 

Anyway, fascinating character is the Sheriff.

Wow, that's a lot of ego in one room

[Lee909]

8 hours ago, Elite said:

Simon Jordan interviewing Eubank on YouTube is a great listen, won't let me embed due to an emoji in the title.

 

Anyway, fascinating character is the Sheriff.

 

When you post the link if you delete the emoji is normally post ok

[Elite]

43 minutes ago, Lee909 said:

 

When you post the link if you delete the emoji is normally post ok

It's on YouTube. Have a try, as I can't get it to work. Either way, good interview.

[Lee909]