Inside TNT’s unlikely bet to ‘revive boxing’ for the U.S. masses, 1.4 million viewers later
TV executives do not exactly embrace boxing. They never have.
Boxing certainly does not elicit waves of warm hues with its politics, smattering of sanctioning bodies and reluctance of the best willing to fight the best. It is what has always bogged down the sport, relegating boxing to the farthest corners of the sporting universe, scrambling for audience scraps left by the NFL, NBA, MLB and the NHL.
Boxing once commanded a modicum of respect when it was televised with great success on Showtime and HBO. But once those cable giants decided to get out of the sport — HBO in 2018, and Showtime in 2023 — the sweet science became a TV orphan again. It was picked up sporadically by ESPN with its association with Top Rank, but otherwise had to find its niche with streaming providers DAZN, Prime Video and Paramount.
Now, hopefully, boxing may have found another TV home in TNT, after a deal was hammered out in April between DAZN and the Warner Brothers Discovery’s TV network.
The partnership is contracted to run for a year, and it started out well, drawing 750,000 viewers, according to TNT, for its initial broadcast on July 4. That broadcast, of Abdullah Mason’s defense of the WBO lightweight world championship against Albert Bell, peaked at 820,000 viewers between 11:45 p.m. and midnight ET.
The second show, on August 1, with William Zepeda winning the vacant WBC lightweight title over Lamont Roach Jr. and Raymond Muratalla retaining the IBF lightweight belt over Robson Conceicao, garnered a ratings high of 650,000 viewers.
What may be even more promising looms this Friday, when TNT features stubby, 6-foot-2 Andy Ruiz and his everyman, fan-friendly style in a true David-vs.-Goliath brawl against towering 6-foot-7 Polish contender Damian Knyba at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Craig Barry, executive vice president and chief content officer for TNT Sports, was the prime factor in making the TNT deal with the DAZN. TNT now finds itself in rare company — the jutting oasis on the barren TV landscape that still televises boxing in the U.S..
But why boxing, when it seems every other network cannot run away fast enough from the sport?
“The truth of the matter is we have been looking for different opportunities to venture into contact sports, and we have always liked boxing, which stems way back to our [Warner Bros.] history with HBO boxing,” Barry told Uncrowned. “We were looking at various opportunities and ones that existed. We came to the conclusion that boxing on cable at this current moment is nonexistent. You just couldn’t get quality fights that were accessible for the boxing fan on what I would refer to as traditional cable.
“For us, that means streaming on [HBO] Max, and we have House of Highlights extending there. We felt if an opportunity presented itself, if we got some good fights, and we had the opportunity to build a franchise and a brand to revive boxing for the masses, we would be interested in doing that.”
Barry felt if he could marry the fights with a studio show and a pre-fight programming package, it would create tentpole events, much like the way HBO did in the 1980s through the decades into the 2010s. His goal is to attract casual boxing fans. That means creating storylines and introducing fighters’ backstories to a larger audience.
TNT has contracts with MLB and NHL, and has for decades produced the highly popular “Inside the NBA” studio show with Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith. Before and after NBA games, it was must-see TV for even casual NBA fans.
DAZN has international tentacles, but the other goal with this venture is to build a United States boxing brand. The sport could use it.
Boxing is still colossal internationally. The Filip Hrgovic vs. Moses Itauma IBF heavyweight title fight this past Saturday sold out the 20,000-seat O2 Arena in London, and captured national attention throughout England. If a fight of that magnitude took place in the U.S., it would be buried somewhere under the deluge of MLB scores, NFL training camp notes and any other morsel of sports news.
Getting fans familiarized with the fighters was part of the reason TNT built its boxing studio show, featuring host Adam Lefkoe, Hall of Famer Tim Bradley, future Hall of Famer Terence Crawford, and former world champion Shawn Porter. DAZN’s ringside team of Todd Grisham, Sergio Mora and Chris Mannix handle the fight broadcasts.
“We don’t rehearse anything,” said Bradley, who used to work for ESPN and is the 2023 Boxing Writers Association of America Taub Award winner for excellence in boxing journalism. “I like the fact that there is structure, but there is no structure and I work best in that environment.
“It was a little different at ESPN. I loved ESPN, that was a well-oiled machine. But we would have meetings, and more meetings, and production meetings. We don’t have that with TNT. They want us to be real and be ourselves. They want to make sure we do our homework, but the reaction is real and I’m a spontaneous person. Everything is real, not fabricated, and TNT wants us to be ourselves and flow — and I love that.
“I also like that TNT seems very committed to this,” Bradley added. “No one would want to go into business with anyone for it to fail. We made big improvements from the first show to the second. Crawford and Shawn are very insightful. I come with experience, and Lefkoe is great at everything. Everyone is on the same page. Everyone wants boxing to succeed. Adam drives the ship. He is a great point guard. He doesn’t care if he’s the smartest guy in the room or not. What I like about Adam is he is very diverse, he can figure out anything.”
Barry encourages the unapologetic studio approach. It’s been a seamless transition between the DAZN’s ringside squad and the studio commentary. Bradley is like the “Boxing Barkley,” someone transparent and with no filter. Whatever is on his mind comes right out. There is also a chemistry — the quartet have text threads prior to the fights, sharing knowledge. It is a group that talks with its audience rather than at them.
The goal is to produce a quality product once a month. So far, TNT appears pleased.
“We are,” Barry said. “I think the biggest surprise I have found is the buy-in from the boxing fans, the buy-in from our talent, the buy-in from the promotions. It feels everyone is on the same page to find success. Boxing fans are passionate. Our talent and the DAZN’s talent get along very well. There is opportunity for friction [with egos], and we have not had any friction at all.
“We do our studio shows differently, leaning into that intersection between sport and culture. You see that on our hockey shows, and obviously on ‘Inside the NBA.’ The numbers we got for the first and second shows are respected numbers for any event, any MLB, NBA or NHL game. Standing something up from nothing is the hardest thing to do, right? We stood this thing up and people found boxing on TNT. Getting 750,000 on a cable network, that says you’re building something. It says there is an opportunity there.”
Ruiz vs. Knyba is a big deal — especially for TNT this Labor Day weekend. The network is hoping to exceed its benchmark 750,000 number, since Ruiz is a known former heavyweight world champion who comes with a layered backstory.
Ruiz, as a 25-to-1 underdog, shocked the world when he stopped the sculpted WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in the seventh round in June 2019. Ruiz has been his own worse enemy since then, jumping trainers, failing to train, almost eating his way out of boxing while enduring nagging injuries.
His world fell apart in the Joshua rematch, losing by unanimous decision in December 2019.
“Every fight changes a hero’s journey,” Lefkoe said. “It’s a great storyline of Ruiz and Knyba. Knyba looks like he can be in ‘The Odyssey’ on that island with the huge humans. And you have this everyman, Ruiz, who is being promoted by Eddie Hearn, who produced the worst night of his life in the Joshua rematch. How much does Ruiz have left in the tank? It’s going to be a learning lesson for all of us.”