If I were Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports, I would be disappointed with the quality of HBO’s boxing program as of late and more importantly its sliding viewer ship. Of course, due to the sheer number of fights put on by HBO every year, the network presents a gem from time to time. But more often than not as of late, HBO has been producing bouts that just do not deliver the sort of human drama that boxing is capable of providing.
Earlier in the week while instant messaging back and forth with my co-host on Boxing Confidential Radio John Chavez, he sent me the following message.
?By the way, 135 is way more stacked than 147,? typed Chavez.
He is referring to the massive amount of talent hanging around in the lightweight division. The welterweight class has been touted as the best in boxing due to housing Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Carlos Quintana, Paul Williams, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito and others.
But Chavez is dead on with his assessment of the lightweight class. There are veterans like Joel Casamayor, Nate Campbell, Julio Diaz, and Jesus Chavez. Then you can go to the young guns in their prime: Juan Diaz, Michael Katsidis, and David Diaz. To make things interesting, we also have a group of fine fighters moving up in weight: Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Joan Guzman. Of course there are young lions waiting to break through into the top of the weight class: Amir Khan and Anthony Peterson.
The 147 pound division is a tremendous serious of wars waiting to happen.
What does this all have to do with HBO?
HBO could capitalize on the depth of talent at lightweight by pushing for a tournament between the top 8 fighters. How exciting would a playoff between Nate Campbell, Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz, Michael Katsidis, Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz, and Joan Guzman be? It would clearly be one of the most exciting happenings in the recent history of the sport.
How could HBO do it? Where would the money come from?
Kerry Davis, direct overseer of HBO Boxing, would have to play hard ball with the multiple promoters contoling these fighters (Top Rank, Golden Boy, Sycuan Ringside), but Davis has the advantage in any power struggle as HBO is the main boxing broadcaster in America. Without HBO, American boxing promoters would find themselves in a tough spot.
Mr. Davis would inform the mentioned promoters that if this tournament is not produced, boxing will be scaled back on HBO in favor of mixed-martial arts, specifically Ultimate Fighting Championship. Easy as that, I am sure the promoters would have to fall to the pressure of mixed martial arts youth catapulted onslaught.
HBO wins with a series of sure fire fights to captivate the boxing public and fans would have a format and series of fights to easily follow.
I know that HBO loves pumping money into the heavyweight division in hopes of catching fire with a new icon that the general public could possibly view as the baddest man alive. Unfortunately, that guy is not out there, and if he is, he is playing in the NFL or NBA. What HBO needs to do is re-educate the average sports fan and let them know that the smaller warriors in boxing bring the action like no other.
Imagine this card…Joel Casamayor vs. Juan Manuel Marquez with Manny Pacquiao vs David Diaz on the under card. Then a few weeks later Juan Diaz vs. Michael Katsidis with Nate Campbell vs Joan Guzman.
The winners go on to fight each other a few months down the line and fans have a logical progression of fights that are easy to follow. Remember, boxing is an event based sport, but most humans like progression and story lines.
This is all unlikely to happen, but I think it is the sort of event that boxing needs: A series of exciting fights, that makes sense, and the winners move on. Not a bunch of fights being thrown together from month to month with no rhyme or reason.
