Ken Hershman, V.P. of Sports Programming for Showtime AKA ?The Czar,? has been working diligently in the last days of the year to shore up the first quarter of his 2011 boxing schedule. Like their competitors across the street at HBO, Showtime finished up 2010 with a flourish but their year was one that was eventful for the network, in and out of the ring.
It was marked by solid action inside the ring (Mikkel Kessler-Carl Froch, Yonnhy Perez-Abner Mares, Juan Manuel Lopez-Rafael Marquez, their bantamweight tournament and Jean Pascal-Bernard Hopkins) and disappointments outside of it (the machinations of- and consequences for- those who pulled out of their ?Super Six?).
Hershman said from his offices in New York, “I wouldn?t say up and down; I thought it was an up year. It?s just that the ?Super Six? created a lot of drama outside the ring, as well as inside. You put together in that environment and you?re bound to have twists and turns. It?s just how you deal with it. I thought it was a great year, very proud of the year we had.”
It?s clear that whether it?s a round-robin or a single-elimination format, Hershman is a believer in tournaments. “I am; I think it?s a great addition to what are otherwise great boxing events. Just to sort of broaden the audience, make it more intriguing and add that overlay of the tournament concept. I think it adds a lot of fun and intrigue to it.” He says that he examining other weight classes in which to pursue this idea. “We?re always going to be looking at other ways to change the conversation and think out of the box and do unique things with boxing.”
Looking ahead, while there are still many moving parts, he does have two dates set. On February 26, they have a split-site lightweight doubleheader with WBA titlist Miguel Acosta defending his belt against Brandon Rios and Antonio DeMarco taking on Reyes Sanchez. Also, on March 19, Lucian Bute begins his three-fight deal with the network when he faces Brian Magee at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
As for the remaining ?Super Six? bouts featuring Carl Froch vs. Glen Johnson and Andre Ward vs. Arthur Abraham, Hershman told Maxboxing that nothing is set. “We?re looking at April and May right now for those dates and trying to find the right situation, obviously, for those and let everything else fall into place around that.” In terms of the bantamweight finals (Mares-Agbeko) and the consolation fight (Perez-Vic Darchinyan), those are being rumored to take place on April 23rd at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.
And Showtime will be televising the latest Puerto Rican star, ?Juan Ma? for the third consecutive outing. This time, after his November battle with Marquez in Las Vegas, Lopez will return to the island.
“We?re actually looking for a date and an opponent and trying to assess that situation, as well,” said Hershman, whose company is becoming more and more reacquainted with Top Rank. “We were just attracted to the content. I think we?re always willing to work with everybody. We just have to have the right pricing and the right content and the right strategy and a plan that is comfortable and works for everybody- not just for the promoter or not just for the networks. It?s gotta work for everybody.
“We found some opportunities with them to work together and I think it?s going to lead to even more stuff.”
Bob Arum has been quoted as saying that he will move forward with Showtime/CBS to distribute his March 12th pay-per-view show featuring Miguel Cotto. Hershman estimates that his network will have ten to 12 editions of ?Championship Boxing? and 12 to 16 editions of ?ShoBox? in the upcoming year.
Much of 2010 was mired in the disappointment of a fight that didn?t come to fruition (Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather) but overall, as the game moved on and made fights, it finished strongly with a string of compelling bouts. No one fight will save or kill boxing (no matter what the general media, who talks boxing once every leap year, says). What will salvage this sport is a consistent line-up of solid match-ups taking place in the right settings. Hershman concurs with this thought.
“I understand why people are focused in on [Pacquiao-Mayweather] and I think it would be fantastic if it could happen,” he says, “but I think at this juncture, we gotta focus on what we have, not on what we don?t have. And what we have is pretty special, especially for Showtime and we have one of the most unbelievable line-ups that we?ve ever had, this early going into a year. I keep telling people, ?If you?re a boxing fan, how can you not be a Showtime subscriber?? when you know you?re getting the ?Super Six? semis, the bantamweight finals. You?re now going to get some Lucian Bute fights, which is always an exciting environment up there and he?s a tremendous fighter. You?re going to get Juan Manuel Lopez coming back- maybe the rematch with Marquez. It?s kind of awe-inspiring to see how it?s all lined up.
“It?s really exciting.”
SUPER STOCKING STUFFER
I know this is a little late (my apologies) but recently, I was sent something that might be a nifty and valuable stocking stuffer for any boxing/comic book fan. I can?t say I?m really a comic book fan (unless you count ?Peanuts?- which I think is really considered a comic strip) but I had always been intrigued and interested in the iconic issue of Superman that saw him squaring off with Muhammad Ali in what was billed ?The Fight to Save Earth from Star-Warriors, Superman vs. Muhammad Ali,? which was originally released in 1978.
DC Comics did a re-release of two hardcover editions of this iconic edition. It retails for $39.99 and can be found in stores. Log on to www.dccomics.com for more information.
I have to admit; I was pretty excited when this was sent to me.
FNF
Speaking of early 2011 schedules, here?s what the early slate of ?Friday Night Fights? on ESPN2 looks like, as of this moment…
Jan. 7th: Ruslan Provodnikov vs. Mauricio Herrera Demetrius Andrade vs. Alberto Herrera
Jan. 14th: Peter Manfredo Jr. vs. Daniel Edouard Aaron Pryor Jr. vs. Edwin Rodriguez
Jan. 28th: Chris Arreola vs. Joey Abell Mike Dallas Jr. vs. Josesito Lopez
Feb. 4th: Sergio Mora vs. Brian Vera
Feb. 11th: Antonin Decarie vs. Shamone Alvarez Jo Jo Dan vs. TBA
Feb. 18th: Fernando Guerrero vs. Saul Roman Shawn Porter vs. TBA
Feb. 25th: Juan Carlos Burgos vs. Cristobal Cruz
March 4th: Ismayl Syllakh vs. Yordanis Despaigne Hector Sanchez vs. Ray Narh
SUNNY FLURRIES (FINALLY!)
Reader Shane B., who is so disgusted by the recent choice of Manny Pacquiao?s opposition, believes that he is no longer the ?Pac-Man,? but instead with him being more and more about business, his new moniker should be ?Biz-Man?…The first two weeks of ?Solo Boxeo? on Telefutura are set: Jan. 7th has Brandon Gonzales vs. Lester Gonzalez and Jan 14th has Erislandy Lara vs. Delray Raines…Hugo Cazares successfully defended his WBA 115-pound strap by outpointing Hiroyuki Hisataka in Osaka, Japan. That was his fourth fight of the year. Cazares has gone on a nice run since his last loss to Ivan Calderon…Looking at this Superman-Ali front cover, I see the Batman has a front row seat, along with some other celebs like former President Gerald Ford and Lucille Ball. But I noticed Alfred E. Neumann with a prime ringside seat. Never figured him for a boxing fan, I have to be honest?It?s official; Terrelle Pryor of Ohio State got the most regrettable tattoo in history. But seriously, a five-game suspension for what he did? Isn?t that a tad punitive? The real buzzkill is that I wanted to see him play Miami next September….
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