If we define a ?star? as someone with crossover potential to the mainstream, then we may not have that with Errol Spence Jr., at least not yet?
As boxing fans, we tend to live in a bubble. We tell each other the same stories, circulate the same gossip, buy into the same narratives, and, not surprisingly, we are all equally shut off from the ?real? world outside of our little fight fan bubble.
For nearly two years now boxing fans have been telling themselves that Errol Spence Jr. was boxing?s next big thing. And, really, in our little world, there was no reason to think that this WASN?T the case.
Spence, with a fan-friendly all-action style and a likeable persona, had an audience of 5 million on NBC when he dismantled Leonard Bundu in August of 2016. Nine months later he would go to the UK and beat Kell Brook for the IBF welterweight title in one of the more entertaining fights of the year. Then just this past Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, he tore through tough and usually durable veteran Lamont Peterson.
All of this points to Spence being the star we had told ourselves he?d become.
But, step away from the bubble, and a bit of realism sets in.
In August of 2016, Spence-Bundu on NBC benefited greatly from having the US Men?s Olympic gold medal basketball game as a lead-in. How many of those 5 million who didn?t change the channel actually watched the fight and how many had the TV on in the background while making a sandwich, going to the bathroom, etc? And, although the Spence-Brook fight was a thriller, it averaged fewer than 300,000 viewers on Showtime during the live afternoon telecast.
And now we have the Peterson fight, which was Spence?s first title defense and his first bout as a bona fide boxing star?or so we told ourselves.
Spence-Peterson on Showtime averaged an audience of just 637,000.
No spin can turn 637,000 into something good. Sorry. Stack Spence?s performance up against other Showtime cards and we get a draw that rates somewhere between the 881K tuned into Mikey Garcia-Adrien Broner and the 587K that watched Leo Santa Cruz vs. Carl Frampton 2.
Some perspective is needed, though. Showtime has 24 million subscribers, roughly half the amount of HBO. So, if we fiddled with the numbers and prorated the views accordingly, we can assume that, if Spence-Peterson had been aired on HBO, it would?ve averaged an audience of over 1.2 million?and that would make it, easily, a more successful show than any boxing event aired on HBO in 2017. There?s also the fact that Showtime?s numbers don?t take into account those watching via their very successful streaming service.
But, still, the numbers don?t show the world beating at boxing?s door to see the next big prizefighting star. And if we define a ?star? as someone with crossover potential to the mainstream, then we may not have that with Errol Spence Jr., at least not yet.
Or, maybe, we?re not necessarily thinking about finding a new Floyd Mayweather who can motivate common fans and the curious outsider into a pay-per-view impulse buy. Maybe we?re just looking for a star for our own purposes, one who can energize the base and thrill the hardcore set.
If that?s the case, then, fine. Errol Spence is our guy.
But boxing DOES need that breakout star who can bring in new fans and push the sport forward. If Spence can?t be that kind of fighter, then we must look elsewhere. There?s always Anthony Joshua?
