Awful Announcing
The light heavyweight title unification fight between Beterbiev and Smith Jr. is set for June 18. The two-part Blood, Sweat & Tears pre-fight documentary series will begin airing on ESPN platforms Sunday.
"The format of boxing is really catered towards the consumption behavior of the younger demographic."
"It’s one of those fights that fight fans, sports fans, certainly have been anticipating for a long period of time, and were anticipating they’d have to shill out money from their pockets to watch [on pay-per-view], and that’s not the case. They’ll be able to see it live on ESPN, and it will be sensational."
Top Rank has its first card since February Tuesday night. COO Brad Jacobs spoke to AA about their return to events and the precautions they're taking.
The deal includes exclusive programming, classic fight replays, and accompanying studio content.
The Pacquaio-Horn fight pulled in an average of 3,925,000 viewers. Top Rank telecasts on ESPN also accounted for cable's 12 most-watched fights in 2017.
Atlas said being removed from live fight coverage "wasn't my decision."
ESPN's Sept. 22 Top Rank event will be available on the ESPN app.
ESPN has deals with both Golden Boy Boxing and Top Rank
Top Rank is expected to have 25 bouts on ESPN and ABC over the next two years while reducing its fights on HBO
