I’ve always been fascinated by mathematical and scientific principles. For example, y = mx + b represents the general equation for a straight line, while f = mxa allows you to determine the force required to move an object at a certain rate. And certainly most people have heard of e=mc2, denoting Einstein’s theory of relativity, even if they cannot explain it. I’ve recently decided that scientists and mathematicians should not get to have all of the fun. Here’s my formula for boxing aficionados significantly overpaying to witness pugilistic mediocrity: HPPV = WOT + M. For all of the laymen amongst you, that’s HBO Pay Per View = WOT + M (Waste of Time & Money).
In days gone by the self proclaimed “heart and soul of boxing” network typically aired Pay Per View (“PPV”) bouts where A-List fighters like Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, and others met equal or at least deserving competition. Pay Per View matches almost always showcased top flight competitors in significant fights. The broadcasts were somewhat pricey, but well worth it considering the time and expense required to see the event in person, especially if you could persuade a large group of your non-cable TV owning friends to buy the essentials in order that they may watch the broadcast along with you.
In recent years, there have been malodorous and costly winds of change blowing in the face of the viewing public. HBO subscribers have been paying a nearly $50 price tag for PPV fight cards and are as often as not subjected to two or three “lamb to the slaughter” preliminary matches designed to showcase former Olympians or rising contenders, followed by a so-called main event pitting a recognized champion against a no-hoper or Marrade Hakkar-esque mandatory challenger. Equally unfortunate for the viewer are bouts passed off as significant involving purportedly “elite” fighters who are obviously undeserving of pay per view exposure.
There has also been a disturbing trend towards similarly expensive “novelty bouts,” contests between name opponents that appear and may in fact be entertaining, but have no real significance. We are living in a time in which it takes $40-$50 to fill up your gas tank, movies run $10+ and it costs $200 for 3 people to see a baseball game. I must therefore go on the record and say that while Bernard Hopkins is one of my 2 or 3 favorite fighters of the last couple of decades, it is singularly unnecessary for HBO to charge viewers $50.00 to witness B-Hop fight Antonio Tarver for the IBO and NBA Light Heavyweight Titles.
HBO ridiculously or insidiously marketed Tarver-Hopkins as a bout designed to assure the reputation of its combatants, but any fan worth his salt realized that Hopkins’ fistic bones were made between his 4/29/95 defeat of Segundo Mercado for the IBF Middleweight strap and his controversial July and December, 2005 losses to Jermain Taylor for the Unified Middleweight Belt after Hopkins’ division record 20 defenses. Tarver arguably had less to gain due to various factors including Hopkin’s age and latest ring record, but unquestionably had created his own niche in boxing history by defeating Roy Jones in 2 of their 3 fights.
A disturbing pugilistic yin/yang now exists on HBO where for every Felix Trinidad-Oscar De La Hoya there’s a Hasim Rahman–Oleg Maskaev. For each Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales, there is a Marco A. Barrera–Kevin Kelly (or worse-Mzonke Fana). As a result, HBO Pay Per View has become a depository for fights that wouldn’t or shouldn’t have aired gratis on network television when that mode of broadcast was in vogue. Any takers as to how or why the network gets away with this? For those readers who are yelling out “because they can,” well done.
So what can the viewing public do about this situation? We can turn to the WWE, whose programming consists of a running story line designed to entice the audience into buying monthly PPV events whose sole purpose is to continue the story line, and so on. We can acquaint ourselves with Ultimate Fighting, a fast growing action sport with weekly network shows and less expensive PPV events. Or we can do the obvious by taking matters into our own hands and/or wallets and just saying no to HBO regarding its airing of costly and unattractive PPV fights. It’s time to hold our collective mud and wait that extra 7 days until Oscar De La Hoya–Yory Boy Campas, or what have you is piggybacked onto the following week’s live HBO network card, which in reality (albeit to a lesser extent) is also HBO PPV since we are pay cable subscribers. But that’s a story for another day.
This proposed course of action should not represent a severe hardship to boxing fans. HBO and Showtime networks frequently air bouts of equal or greater quality than those on PPV, there’s ESPN and FOX Sports for the dry periods, and nostalgic individuals like myself have ESPN Classic and Versus. Insisting on value for your entertainment dollar will result in any short term discomfort to you ultimately being outweighed by the satisfaction of getting what you pay for. If we do otherwise, the fault is ours and ours alone.
