The Ukranian Heavyweight and older Klitschko brother will be defending his WBC heavyweight title against Juan Carlos Gomez Saturday, shown for free on ESPN Classic
When I stumbled onto The Ring blog yesterday and saw that an actual modern heavyweight title fight was going to be shown for free on ESPN, I was flabbergasted. Given it is not a money maker of a fight, pitting Vitali Klitschko to mandatory defend his WBC heavyweight title against Juan Carlos Gomez, I still can’t believe it is being shown for free.
Was Don King not involved with this? Is this the 70s and 80s where ABC and NBC would feature boxing match ups between greats like “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, Joe Frazier and Ray Mercer? Am I stuck in soon to be canceled ABC drama “Life on Mars”?
No, it’s happening and I think it’s a good thing. I think putting more title fights on normal TV will draw more interest back into the sport that has been hurt by MMA and UFC over the years. Boxing is a classic staple of American television. An example is Howard Cosell calling the fight between Frazier and George Foreman (“Down Goes Frazier! Down Goes Frazier!) It used to be something that people wanted to watch and wanted to get into.
Today with pay per view, the audience is alienated. Every fight that is broadcast is usually behind the velvet rope of pay per view, leaving chance that the viewer is paying $50-100 sometimes for a fight that only lasts 30 seconds. This isn’t always the case, but it’s a risky investment for entertainment.
I think picking and choosing your fights and giving some things away for free will draw in more viewers than hiding them all on pay per view with a price tag. It’s the old saying of drawing more flies with honey. Give them a product that they would be willing to watch and willing to buy. I think with this you’d have more interest in a big fight. You could weave the story and sell for a Klitschko brothers brawl when that happens.
Now of course this wouldn’t work with Floyd Mayweather or other established stars in lower divisions. Every fight Floyd has is going to be massive because that is the kind of person he is. But with the fledgling heavyweight division, I’d be trying everything to sell these fighters to the viewers. There are still great heavyweights out there and they deserve the limelight.
A good example is Riddick Bowe, an Olympic silver medalist and former heavyweight champion. Would his first fight with Evander Holyfield been so well watched and spectacular if he hadn’t been exposed on normal TV in his post Olympic professional career.
I hope this fight opens the door for a return of the heavyweights somewhat. I don’t think one fight will change anything, but It can help.
Vitali Klitschko aims to impress US fight fans – (AP via International Herald Tribune)
