In honor of February 14th, I’m gonna paint some swear phrases on tiny sweet hearts, cram them right into a sack of heart-shaped Peeps, with an “IOU One Pearl Necklace” coupon, and slam the entire thing into the sweaty face of boxing ignorance and skulduggery. Now, let’s see what you’ve despatched me this week.
The Finish of Prime Rank on ESPN
Hey Paul.
I used to be saddened to listen to the information that ESPN could be chopping ties with Prime Rank. I used to be actually blissful when their deal first kicked off as I noticed it as a chance to deliver boxing into the mainstream. That by no means occurred and it appeared nearly from day one which boxing was an afterthought for the folks at ESPN. For my part, they by no means gave it an actual shot. They all the time appeared to placing it off to their app or scheduling it at odd instances.
I nonetheless do not forget that line you had once they first began with pushing boxing to ESPN+. You known as it a “streaming pile of crap” and mentioned that it will be the loss of life blow to conserving boxing on the community as an entire. Boy, have been you proper!
What do you assume went mistaken with the partnership? Do you see boxing coming again to ESPN? The place do you assume Prime Rank will go subsequent?
– Josh Alvarado
Hey Josh.
Prime Rank was doomed at ESPN as a result of they might by no means ship a pay-per-view star to place the community into the cash-rich pay-per-view market they lusted to be in. And, sadly, in boxing, the one actual “large” cash available is in pay-per-view. So, once they couldn’t push Terence Crawford and Vasiliy Lomachenko into PPV stardom and couldn’t get Tyson Fury again into the States, they actually served no goal to ESPN, apart from as comparatively pricey ESPN+ filler.
The Saudi pilfering of their expertise and messing with their contract gamers put the ultimate nails into the TR coffin. From the second they signed on to their Riyadh Season “partnership,” property have been pulled and messed with to some extent the place, as they limped into the final yr of their ESPN contract, they’d nearly nothing. Crawford had left, Shakur Stevenson was nudged into signing with the extra Saudi-friendly Eddie Hearn, Teofimo Lopez was being dragged right into a Saudi “partnership” of his personal, and heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson was wrangled by Turki right into a shedding step-up battle that Too Rank was in opposition to (however needed to settle for due to their Saudi enterprise entanglement).
All they actually have left of their very own is Keyshawn Davis.
With their market worth diminished, they most likely don’t have any possibility apart from to signal their subsequent TV cope with the Saudi-partnered DAZN. Who else would take them?
Don’t assume for a second that this wasn’t an intentional stripping of assets to facilitate a rising monopoly. I’d say that the Saudis are enjoying chess whereas the remainder of boxing is enjoying checkers, however that’s giving boxing an excessive amount of credit score. The Saudis are enjoying chess whereas boxing is buzzing a track to itself, with a bishop up every nostril.
ESPN could come again to boxing, however solely when boxing can assure them a minimum of a small handful of bankable stars (which they’ll’t proper now and, given the place the game is headed, received’t be capable to do within the foreseeable future).
Ring Journal: Bible of BS
Hey Magno.
I liked your Notes from the Boxing Underground column this previous Monday. No one goes for the throat such as you. You’re the roast grasp common of boxing and your writing actually stands out on this era of bland boxing writing. Stick with it. By the way in which, you additionally weren’t mistaken in your opinions.
Placing out intentional misinformation is a shame once you’re operating a significant media outlet. Turki and his Ring Journal workers have knowledgeable the boxing world that they don’t seem to be to be trusted and that they’re simply fantastic with mendacity to their readers, only for the kick of misdirecting the general public. This ought to be talked about far more than it has been.
– Mike from Reno
Hey Mike.
I agree that extra ought to be speaking about it, however who could be doing the speaking? The complete media is at present comprised of whores taking Turki’s cash, wannabe whores trying to in the future take Turki’s cash, or weak souls scared into silence for worry of crossing Turki and the Saudis as they create a boxing monopoly. Who else is left to talk reality to energy, besides me and, effectively, that’s all I can see.
I’ve by no means anticipated something from the boxing media past compliance, lack of character, and greed. So, I’m by no means stunned that they folded so shortly and fully. I can’t say that I’m all that stunned, both, by the variety of ill-informed followers cheering on what may, in the end, be the game’s demise (a minimum of within the US and UK).
I do see, nevertheless, some followers waking up, wanting round, and realizing that the Saudis have strip-mined the game and that, to an incredible extent, taken it away from them. And, additionally, they’re realizing who within the media has been chop-blocking to guarantee the Saudis achieve stealing away the game.
Turki utilizing Ring Journal as a software for intentional misinformation is an even bigger black eye for the Ring’s credibility than all of the earlier Ring Journal black eyes (and there’ve been many). As I wrote in Monday’s column: “Turki truly fancies himself fairly intelligent for having dirty his media acquisition…And he did it for no obvious motive apart from to passive-aggressively manipulate ‘the sheep,’ as he subsequently referred to followers and/or critics on Twitter.
Folks ought to care about this greater than they apparently do.
By the way in which, thanks for the type phrases.
Acquired a query (or hate mail) for Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack? The very best of the very best will get included within the weekly mailbag section proper right here at FightHype. Ship your stuff right here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.
