Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman outclassed their respective opponents in the inaugural Premier Boxing Champions telecast on NBC?
Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, Adrien Broner (30-1, 22 KOs) and Keith Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs) had little trouble outclassing their respective opponents, John Molina Jr. (27-6, 22 KOs) and Robert Guerrero (32-3-1, 18 KOs), in the inaugural Premier Boxing Champions telecast on NBC.
It has been 30 years since boxing has appeared on network TV. Cable has monopolized boxing during that time and pay-per-view, an up-close-and-personal outgrowth of closed-circuit, was an indulgence many could ill afford. As a result, and helped in no small part by boxing?s unruly nature, the fan base for the sport has shrunken, only to be replaced with less inspirational forms of entertainment.
The Al Haymon program that premiered Saturday night, and which will eventually extend to CBS, Spike TV, and other outlets too obscure to recall, is an attempt, and at this point only an attempt, to turn that around. By bringing boxing back to the masses, by restoring the sweet science?s working-class bona fides, the belief is, the hope is that when sports fans can again see boxing for free on a regular basis, they?ll return in droves.
But that?s assuming a lot.
Haymon Boxing spared no expense in creating a first-class production. The introductory music was composed by Hans Zimmer. The talking heads include Marv Albert, Sugar Ray Leonard, Al Michaels, Laila Ali, and B.J. Flores. While they were as professional as professional can be, they failed to equal, let alone eclipse, the standard set by Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, and Emanuel Steward on HBO several years ago. But perhaps they?ll improve over time. The fighters? dressing rooms, usually as uninviting as a jail cell, were painted to match the color of their boxing trunks. And the ring walks, often an opportunity for self-expression, were extremely dignified, with neither hip-hop nor clowning anywhere in sight.
However controlled the presentation, however soothing the music, however colorful the dressing rooms, it?s the quality of the fights that will make or break this enterprise, and it?s the quality of fights on the telecast that left something to be desired.
The first fight of the night between Broner and Molina was not a success. The Problem totally dominated his hapless opponent. Broner showcased his superior speed, his superior reflexes, and an arsenal of punches before which the one-dimensional Molina could only wince. The judges scored it 120-108 twice and 118-110 after 12 lopsided rounds.
Even those unfortunate souls who were watching boxing for the first time in years understood that this was a mismatch. Broner can?t be faulted for being the better fighter. The matchmaker can be faulted for starting this series with such a godawful fight.
The second fight of the night, the main event between Thurman and Guerrero, looked better on paper and in the ring. At least Guerrero, unlike Molina, came to fight. The problem was the man he was fighting was too skilled for it to be competitive.
But there was a knockdown. There was blood. There were lumps and bruises. At least it was a fight. But as the judges? 120-107, 118-109, and 118-108 scores indicate, it was no more competitive than the fight which preceded it.
Returning boxing to its roots is an idea whose time has come. But unless the fights are competitive, with the best fighting the best, with the second best fighting the second best and so on, it?s an idea whose time will go.
Consumers may be gullible, but even they can tell the difference, somewhere deep down inside, between that which is a fair fight and that which borders on fiasco.
