HBO customarily has done countdown shows to hype its biggest pay-per-view fights, but the network plans to air a first of its kind countdown series leading up to the May 5 junior middleweight championship bout between future Hall of Famers Oscar De La Hoya (38-4, 30 KOs) and Floyd Mayweather Jr. (37-0, 24 KOs). Titled De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7, the series is comprised of four half-hour episodes, the first three to premiere in prime time on Sundays, April 15, 22, 29 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. The fourth and final episode airs Thursday, May 3, at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT, two days before the fight takes place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“The producers will be living at the fighters’ camps 24/7, and the programs we present will appeal far beyond the hardcore boxing fan,” HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg said.
“Our approach will be to produce a totally unique viewing experience as these two world-class athletes prepare for a defining moment in their respective careers.”
Still working:
One anticipated subplot to the mega-fight has been erased by De La Hoya’s decision not to employ Floyd Mayweather Sr. as his trainer.
De La Hoya hasn’t announced a replacement after rejecting Mayweather’s $2 million demand, deciding it would be too much of a distraction to have his opponent’s dad working his corner.
Meanwhile, the elder Mayweather has continued to make his mark with other fighters. He also trains Laila Ali and is scheduled to work her corner in Capetown, South Africa, on Saturday when she fights Gwendolyn O’Neil of Guyana. Another fighter Mayweather Sr. trains is also in action Saturday. “Bad” Chad Dawson, who challenges light heavyweight champion Tomasz Adamek of Poland in Kissimmee, Fla. (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET), recently hired Mayweather Sr. to replace two-time trainer of the year Dan Birmingham. Dawson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Birmingham neglected him in favor of Winky Wright and Jeff Lacy.
“Dan was all about Winky, and I felt I needed more time from him than he could give me,” Dawson said. “He was all about those guys (Wright and Jeff Lacy).
“Floyd is a very hands-on trainer. He’s there to run with me, he’s there in the gym and he’s taught me things I never knew. I’m throwing quicker and faster combinations, and even though he’s a master of defense, I’m a better offensive fighter now.”
