UFC DRAWS NEAR 5 MILLION TO SPIKE TV
San Francisco, CA- Are boxing fans, in addition to people in the business of boxing, are they going to get mad at me because of what I am about to report? Probably so! The UFC 75 card that featured Quinton Jackson beating Dan Henderson was a ratings blockbuster. Get this, a show emanating from the UK (on a delayed basis) was seen by nearly five million (4.7) people on Spike TV Saturday night! It was a spectacular show in that it kept people tuned in for a three-hour broadcast!
BOXING IS BEING LEFT AT STARTING GATE
Why can?t Bob Arum, Don King, or better yet Oscar De La Hoya, if not all three of these guys, put something huge on Network or even Cable TV? Comparing boxing TV numbers, ESPN would be happy with 850,000 folks watching Friday Night Fights. I mean, seeing the UFC folks in particular are doing a lot of things right, why can?t boxing learn anything from this? This kind of stubbornness, some call it greed
OSCAR CAN DO IT, NEED STEP UP NOW!
Oscar is aware of what is happening to the sport/business. That being said, De La Hoya needs to bring himself to networks in this order: ABC, CBS, NBC and then Spike TV. Get ABC to do a ?Wide World of Sports? boxing special edition. The difference between boxing and what Dana White has done in the UFC is clear and simple. The Fertitta?s (Lorenzo & Frank) actually bought their way onto Spike TV, in other words they were willing to gamble with their own money. With nobody in boxing being of the UFC mindset, I expect that in two years, the disparity in Internet hits, now 3-1 over boxing will even be greater.
GOMEZ CAN ACT & FIGHT, BUT SING?
What?s up with the Alfonso Gomezsong on his voicemail? The Contender season one star is going to duel with Ben Tackie (29-7-1, 17 KOs) on October 16, on an HBO broadcast from the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. If you like Gomez (17-3, 8 KOs) here, you?re not alone. Bigger, stronger, younger, Gomez may have every edge, except punching power. Tackie went the route with a then sizzling World champion (140 lbs.) Ricky Hatton in December 2003. Has dropped two since, one decision reeked of home cooking with Freddy Hernandez, while the other was to a ?house? fighter in Juan Lazcano. Gomez is coming off five wins and a draw since The Contender UD 7 (yes, seven rounds) of September 2004 that was broadcast in May 2005 to Peter Manfredo. As for the song on his answering machine, let?s just say it won?t be coming to an FM station anytime soon.
MIRKO CRO COP LOSES SECOND IN ROW
A year ago the only heavyweight that would be favored over Mirko Cro Cop in heavyweight MMA was a guy named Fedor. Now after getting KTFO out by Gabriel Gonzaga, who failed so miserably against 43-year old UFC heavyweight (over 205 lbs.) champ Randy Couture, was an upset that hurt the UFC in the pocketbook as they envisioned Cro Cop being the man, at least for a while. That?ll never happen as the Croatian icon was bested by Cheick Kongo under Jackson?s UD 5 win over Henderson. Crop Cop turned out to be nothing but hype!
PACMAN PUTTING PIECES TOGETHER
Manny Pacquiao (44-3-2, 35 KOs) will meet Marco Antonio Barrera (63-5, 42 KOs) on October 6 in Las Vegas, at least that?s how it is being billed. But has Barrera regressed to the point of no return? I think so, unless he were to pull off a Roberto Duran-Davey Moore type of upset (sans the thumb), Marco is going to have his head handed to him. This isn?t a fight. No, it?s more of an affirmation that Pacquiao is the greatest fighter at 130 lbs. After Barrera, Pac should line up ?em up. Joan Guzman (27-0, 17 KOs) would probably give Pac the sternest test at 130.
