If anyone remembers Chris Byrd’s fights, specifically on HBO, there has never been any kind, positive opinions about him as a fighter. Guys like Lampley and especially Larry Merchant hated Chris Byrd and his style, called him unwatchable, boring, annoying, and never appreciated the fine skills that he displayed in the ring. Even Roy Jones Jr showed no interest in Byrd as well. Merchant always took pleasure in showing his disgust towards Byrd, hoping he would fade into oblivion when he loses. There was never anything positive that they would say about Byrd. I can only remember one fight where HBO actually did praise Byrd for his brilliant performance against Jimmy Thunder. Was the Byrd hate really justified in your view? Was he that unwatchable in the ring or has Byrd been treated unfairly by HBO?
Mike Tyson ..... and the Holyfield-Bowe fights .... were the gold standard of HBO heavyweight boxing. People don't really care for heavyweights who can barely crack an egg. Boxers who slap, slip and shimmy around the ring are tolerated to some extent but no one wants to hold that up as a style for heavyweight champions.
Everyone shows bias against these type of fighters. They fight negatively, don't go for the knockout, demonstrate a bias towards defence and go through periods of passive boxing making silent agreements. No one enjoys watching those fights so the networks don't enjoy putting them on.
To be fair HBO hated Mike Tyson forever more once he'd switched to Showtime in '91. Their otherwise excellent series 'Legendary Nights' that looked back on the very best fights they'd broadcast over 30 plus years somehow included the mentally ill, physically shot Tyson getting mauled by Lennox Lewis. Agree about Byrd though, Merchant's spiteful rant seconds after he'd been KO'd by Ibeabuchi was brutal. This is making me depressed though remembering just how good HBO otherwise were in their coverage of the sport. Nobody else came close in terms of production value and journalistic excellence.
I think he was. He was, of course, on the USA Network several times prior to being on HBO, so HBO certainly knew what his style was and what they were getting. I seem to remember someone from HBO, in the mid- to late-90's, saying they'd never have Hasim Rahman on their network again. Boxing and television are fickle businesses.
Just a speculation but, one has to imagine that HBO were invested in Byrd and that he represented a financial risk to them, to some extent. Whether or not the HBO commentary team were privy to the financials or were close to the commercial end at all, I don't know but, they would probably have had the nous to know that Byrd was a potential Lose/Lose commodity. Byrd was a curiosity, being that he didn't fit the modern HW mold. But, ultimately, he didn't sell well and what he did sell could result in negative feedback, i.e. the risks manifested in his getting poleaxed or beaten to pulp - by guys twice his size - which was not a good look. (Even if it is HW Boxing, Byrd's story was known. He was this crazy LHW, taking on Goliaths). Or, he fought his game of Cat 'n' Mouse, took a decision and the audience needed to be revived after the final bell had sounded, through sheer boredom. And, this was more or less reflected in the wider sports news media. It wasn't just HBO commentators saying that Byrd was "unwatchable". I'm fairly sure that you could find the term in independent press and online articles of the times, concerning Byrd's performances. At the same time, I do think there might well have been some pained cringing going on when he got battered. Either way, he was a turn off.
Probably HBO knew they could never sell Byrd as PPV headliner. I'm guessing if Byrd fought Lewis they'd have to televise for it free on HBO. If they tried to sell it as PPV it would bomb hard with HBO losing money.
Byrd was just never going to be a big attraction due to his style and lack of power. Not his fault. But life's not always fair.
