In an article posted here this Saturday, following the Tyson Fury-Otto Wallin clash on ESPN+, my esteemed colleague Caryn A. Tate wrote this about ESPN?s activist role in ?aiding? Tyson Fury?s corner:
?At one point, ESPN?s Bernardo Osuna was speaking with Fury?s trainer, Ben Davison, during a round. Davison revealed he thought the cut [over Fury?s right eye that could easily have been a fight-ending injury] was caused by a headbutt, and Osuna corrected him and said the commission had reviewed the tape and had deemed it caused by a punch. By talking out of turn, ESPN may have changed the outcome of the fight; if they hadn?t told Davison anything, it?s possible Fury could have just coasted, thinking even if they stopped the fight it would go to a technical decision. Instead, Fury came on harder with the knowledge it was caused by a punch. It was an unethical thing to have taken place.?
Well, I?m not as diplomatic as Caryn. What ESPN did was disgraceful bullshit and a flat-out cheat that benefited their house fighter Fury.
As I wrote over at FightHype.com in my Notes from the Boxing Underground column:
4?Shortly after that hellacious gash (actually a pair of gashes) was opened over Fury?s eye, ESPN was informed that the commission declared the cut(s) had been caused by a punch and not, as Fury?s corner had assumed, from a clash of heads.
The ESPN broadcast crew then took it upon themselves, almost giddily so, to dispatch interviewer Bernardo Osuna to Fury?s corner in the fifth round, making sure that trainer Ben Davison knew the commission had ruled the cut to have come from a punch and not a head butt. Davison sort of gave a ?come again? to Osuna, aware that he had just been given a very helpful piece of information, and then went ahead as normal.
Essentially, ESPN gave Team Fury a head?s up about how close they were to a TKO loss, not to a technical decision win. The game plan for Fury could?ve been (and quite possibly WAS) altered accordingly. This was the equivalent of handing the official scorecards over to one of the trainers between rounds, letting them know that they?re actually losing a fight they thought they were winning.
And when ESPN has $100 million invested in Tyson Fury with a big cross-network pay-per-view rematch against Deontay Wilder slated for February, it?s not so farfetched, whether true or not, to think that ?The Worldwide Leader? was working to protect their investment by tipping off Davison of the impending doom.?
The boxing media has mostly been silent about this clear ethical violation, maybe because most of these guys really want to someday get an ESPN gig and a taste of that sweet, sweet mainstream money. The only site [other than this one and Fight Hype, where I also work] to bring this up?one which stuffs ESPN+ sales links into the body of articles?fluffed off the ESPN activism, wondering aloud whether ?it deserves to be blown up into a massive witch hunt,? but also saying that it does deserve mention, ?probably.?
Could Fury?s corner have gotten the info about the cut elsewhere? Yeah, anyone watching TV could?ve brought it to them?but ESPN did it and that makes a world of difference.
And, yeah, the commission was at fault for not properly informing Team Fury of what was ruled upon viewing the replay. Someone from the commission should make sure all parties know what?s going on at all times. But, again, it was not ESPN?s place to rush and level off a playing field or, in this case, give a head?s up regarding impending possible doom. Their job is to call the fight as it happens?period.
ESPN crossed a line on Saturday. Their constant and aggressive, almost desperate, cheerleading for house fighters is one thing. Actively diving into the action to try and save one of them is just way too much.
