Had an argument with a mate regarding Matchroom's Cards - Opinions Please!!!

[icemax]

Originally Posted by Paullow

I'll be in the minority here, but I would genuinely rather watch a card that i consider 6/10 in terms of the fights on Sky than a 7/10 on BoxNation or Channel 5 etc. I know the fights are the main attraction and the bottom line, but i really like the Sky/Matchroom product and package. I love the whole build up on SSN, Ringside, the weigh-ins and interviews with Kugan and Eddie beforehand, to me it just makes the nights entertainment feel important and that you want to be a part of it.

Not being insulting mate, but I bet you like musicals .....surely its all got to be about the fights

[Marlow]

Originally Posted by icemax

I seem to be one of the few who actually enjoyed FFN....I honestly haven't seen an improvement in quality of fights even though the quantity has halved.

You can't be serious.

[Paullow]

Originally Posted by icemax

Not being insulting mate, but I bet you like musicals .....surely its all got to be about the fights

[Marlow]

Don't suppose there's a list out there of FFN cards?

[icemax]

Originally Posted by Marlow

You can't be serious.

Double the number of cards and roughly the same quality, yes, Im serious....It would have been much better if these dates had been opened up for all promoters to pitch for but when you have one source of supply you get diminishing quality

[Marlow]

Originally Posted by icemax

Double the number of cards and roughly the same quality, yes, Im serious....It would have been much better if these dates had been opened up for all promoters to pitch for but when you have one source of supply you get diminishing quality

We're not gonna agree that they're of the same quality, we'll just leave that there.

Maloney puts on shit cards whatever channel he's on.

Frank even with his own channel has failed to deliver.

Hatton is the only major domestic promoter I feel sorry for because he could do with a 2nd chance, the June 16th card he put on was good on paper.

He has a good little stable as well.

I'd be all for FFN making a return if it was Dave Coldwell running the show, plus we'd get to see more of Cardle etc.

Just out of interest what do you think it would cost sky to record one of Coldwells shows, they always have cameras there anyway for the highlights on ringside. How much would the rights be? Even if it was shown on a delay midweek.

[Jonsey]

Originally Posted by icemax

Double the number of cards and roughly the same quality, yes, Im serious....It would have been much better if these dates had been opened up for all promoters to pitch for but when you have one source of supply you get diminishing quality

Before you had 1 live fight per card, now you have 3. So the number of live fights hasn't gone down.

The quality has 100% improved.

[Jack]

Originally Posted by Paullow

I'll be in the minority here, but I would genuinely rather watch a card that i consider 6/10 in terms of the fights on Sky than a 7/10 on BoxNation or Channel 5 etc. I know the fights are the main attraction and the bottom line, but i really like the Sky/Matchroom product and package. I love the whole build up on SSN, Ringside, the weigh-ins and interviews with Kugan and Eddie beforehand, to me it just makes the nights entertainment feel important and that you want to be a part of it.

I agree with this.

Any sport has to be presented well. Fans will always turn in to see football, NFL or whatever, but when a sport has good production, it attracts non-fans. If the UFC had never taken a risk by upgrading their production levels, they would never have developed into the company that they are today because casual fans won't give poorly presented shows a chance. Nobody wants to watch something which looks cheap because 'cheap' is often 'irrelevant'. People want to get involved in a big event, something which feels important.

This is where boxing has gone wrong in recent years, I think. Big events don't feel that special really, outside of the big American shows or what the Klitschkos do. The production of these shows are spot on and in British boxing, only Hearn can do the same. Music, lighting, video packages and things like that, it all matters and helps the sport to grow.

Boxing fans will always watch small hall shows because they like what is going on in the ring. However, non-fans will only turn in to something which is presented well. The best example of this is darts, I think. Production is key.

Sadly for Hearn, the commentators are unbelievably shit on Sky, which spoils anything else they have control over. Adam Smith and Jim Watt or Larry Merchant, Manny Steward and Jim Lampley? British commentators are terrible.

[Robert]

the only domestic cards recently which to me has had the feeling of a big occasion has been Bute-Froch, Burns - Mitchell, Frampton - Martinez but thatjust because they where proper hyped up fight what got plenty of press and the fans in the arenas where really into it big time the next fight like that is Probably the Kessler vs Froch the burns - vazquez wont have the passion of the fans because its England.

For me there is just to many domestic cards which tick the boxes for ranking purposes the big fight allways just round corner but most of us dont have a clue about the away fighter so cant really get in to the fight like the Bellew fight coming up not many of us know anything about his oppenent so its hard to get pumped up for it we just take it his record is padded like his last oppenet people would probably be more pumped if he fought Ovil again

[Jonsey]

Originally Posted by Robert

the only domestic cards recently which to me has had the feeling of a big occasion has been Bute-Froch, Burns - Mitchell, Frampton - Martinez but thatjust because they where proper hyped up fight what got plenty of press and the fans in the arenas where really into it big time the next fight like that is Probably the Kessler vs Froch the burns - vazquez wont have the passion of the fans because its England.

For me there is just to many domestic cards which tick the boxes for ranking purposes the big fight allways just round corner but most of us dont have a clue about the away fighter so cant really get in to the fight like the Bellew fight coming up not many of us know anything about his oppenent so its hard to get pumped up for it we just take it his record is padded like his last oppenet people would probably be more pumped if he fought Ovil again

his next opponent is quality.

[Jonsey]

US commentators are so over rated. Jim Lampley & Larry Merchant are horific. Showtime has gone to shit since Goldenboy tool over. Ian Darke & Richie Woodhall would be the dream team on Sky.

Jack and others are right. UFC is prime example. Boxing is 100x more exciting as a sport but the UFC is growing and attracts the casual because of everything else that goes around it. Had BoxNation been put in charge of the UFC production it would still be an annual event in Alabama that nobody had ever heard off.

[ashedward]

Originally Posted by SMS Employee

^^ yeah 6/10 sounds about right. I'm not sure about chilemba, is he any good? Like tony's last fight vs miranda was pretty poor, miranda offered nothing. Yeah looking forward to froch vs kessler and crolla vs matthews for obvious reasons.

Thing is mate, if sky do pull out of boxing can you honestly blame them? Look at what has been on offer in the past 18 months or so, i agree with you 100% it will more or less finish boxing as a mainstream sport.

The old ffn format had to change it was poor for year's Hearn has got record viewing figures for froch and brook and I think he will get it right and get a new contract