It?s still early, but 2015 seems to be shaping up as a pretty good year for U.S. boxing fans. First, Deontay Wilder silenced the critics and became the first American heavyweight champion since 2006. Next, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao finally agreed to the bout that people have been calling for since Kanye West was normal. Now, boxing will make a grand return to network television this weekend with the first installment of ?Premier Championship Boxing on NBC? (PBC on NBC).
This is not a cheesy reality show like ?The Contender? or ?The Next Great Champ.? It also will not feature random or anonymous fighters that we?ve seen in previous attempts to get boxing back to the masses. ?PBC on NBC? features real fighters in real fights.
The inaugural show will headlined by an exciting matchup between undefeated KO connoisseur Keith ?One Time? Thurman (24-0-0, 21 KO) and fallen Mayweather foe Robert ?The Ghost? Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KO). The co-feature will pit the man everybody loves to hate, Adrien ?The Problem? Broner (29-1-0, 22 KO) vs blood and guts warrior John Molina Jr. (27-5-0, 22 KO). Lastly, former two-division champ Abner Mares (28-1-1, 15 KO) will face Arturo Santos Reyes (18-4-0, 5 KO) in a tune up bout on the undercard. Sugar Ray Leonard, Marv Albert and Al Michaels will handle the broadcasting duties.
The series is being put together by advisor extraordinaire, Al Haymon. Haymon was widely blamed for the lackluster 2014 boxing year. His elite fighters played it safe, resulting in a series of mismatches and a serious lack of intrigue. Now it appears that the dismal year was all a part of Haymon?s master plan to take over boxing.
After leaving Oscar De La Hoya?s Golden Boy Promotions reeling with an Ocean?s Eleven worthy heist of talent, Haymon has put together a deep and dangerous stable of more than 170 fighters. With PBC cards set to show on NBC, CBS, Spike TV, Bounce TV and more, fight fans will finally get to see marquee matchups outside of HBO and Showtime. Whereas Mayweather vs Pacquiao is expected to hit for a cool $100, ?PBC on NBC? is priced right at $Free.99.
Saturday night?s headliner between Thurman and Guerrero is intriguing. The undefeated, smooth-talking and hard-punching Thurman will be facing the toughest test of his young career. Guerrero is a former multi-division champion who will not be hard to find inside the squared circle. Despite being the naturally smaller man, you can bet that the former featherweight will try to get inside early to test Thurman?s mettle. Though he?s just 31 years old, Guerrero won his first world title nearly nine years ago and is still fighting at a high level.
However, against limited opposition, Thurman has shown grit, ring smarts and an innate ability to close the show. He?s fought a steady stream of quality opposition the past two years and had made the jump from prospect to legitimate contender (The WBA trinket around his waist is insignificant). His nickname is ?One Time? because all it takes is one shot to make his opponent kiss the canvas. My pick: Guerrero will test Thurman early, but ultimately the bigger puncher and more skillful tactician will wear down his opponent. He won?t get Guerrero out of there, but he?ll come close. I?ll take Thurman by unanimous decision.
Molina should be a good test for Broner, who will be fighting at junior welterweight for the third time. Broner is easily the more natural skilled and physically gifted opponent. However, Molina participated in the 2014 Fight of the Year (?The Ring Magazine?) with Lucas Matthysse, and will be in Broner?s face all night long. The last time that happened, ?AB? was aptly battered and bruised over twelve rounds in an upset loss to Marcos Maidana. Saturday night will represent a big test for Broner to see whether he?s mentally stronger and has made the necessary adjustments to fight off a strong, aggressive opponent.
Broner doesn?t carry the same bone-jarring power as he did in the lightweight and junior lightweight dvisions, but he?ll have a definitely speed advantage. Plus, Molina?s allergy to head movement should provide Broner with an easy target when he?s on the offensive. Broner should have some extra incentive after Molina?s camp clowned him in a diss record last July. My pick: Molina?s style is tailor made to give Broner fits. At some point in the fight he?ll make Broner doubt himself and force him to dig deep. However, the talent advantage is too steep to overcome and I expect Broner to win by late stoppage.
Expect the NBC broadcasting team to have the censor buttons on deck anytime Broner is within an earshot of a camera. Broner has made a name for himself with crass and ignorant stunts in the past. If NBC execs want to avoid making a generous involuntary donation to the FCC, precautions will need to be taken.
