It’s been a busy week for the Al Haymon backed, Premier Boxing Champions series, as early this week a huge television deal with NBC was announced and Thursday the PBC inked a multi-year deal with cable channel Spike TV.
Beginning on March 13 at 6 p.m. ET/PT, the PBC on Spike TV will air on a Friday once a month, going up against longtime ESPN 2 series, Friday Night Fights.
The first card will be headlined by former world champion Andre Berto facing Josesito Lopez in a welterweight bout. The co-main event will feature former IBF welterweight champ, Shawn Porter in his first fight since losing for the first time in his career against Kell Brook in August, taking on Roberto Garcia.
The fight card is rumored to be held at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, but official word on the site has not been released.
So far, the PBC’s three fight cards between the NBC and Spike TV deals are great fights on paper. If the fights turnout to be as good as advertised then the series should see quick growth in its viewership.
With boxing’s popularity dropping over the past several years, the PBC series could be just what is needed to get boxing’s stock to rise in the world of sports.
The TV deals could make boxing more of a mainstream sport once again, instead of one that is only paid attention to by non-hardcore boxing fans when Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao are fighting.
Spike TV has already established itself in combat sports with various MMA-related shows and matches, so jumping into boxing is a no-brainer.
The demographic for Spike TV is the 18-49 year-old audience, which is an ideal age range for the sport. The older end of the spectrum will have those fans who remember the sport when it was on a larger scale decades ago and the younger end can be turned on to the sport with exciting cards such as the ones already in place.
