check out these fights they have slated for 2009 on FNF: January 9 At Primm, Nev. (ESPN2): "Friday Night Fights" season premier, Yuriorkis Gamboa vs. Roger Gonzalez, 12 rounds, featherweights; Odlanier Solis vs. Owen Beck, 10 rounds, heavyweights January 16 At Key West, Fla. (ESPN2): Carlos Quintana vs. Eromosele Albert, 10 rounds, junior middleweights; James McGirt Jr. vs. Angel Hernandez, 10 rounds, middleweights January 30 At Montreal (ESPN2): Herman Ngoudjo vs. Juan Urango, 12 rounds, for vacant IBF junior welterweight title; Antonin Decarie vs. Miguel Angel Rodriguez, 8 rounds, welterweights February 6 At Salisbury, Md. (ESPN2): Chris Henry vs. Yusaf Mack, 10 rounds, ligtt heavyweights; Fernando Guerrero vs. Gabriel Rosado, 10 rounds, middleweights February 27 At Hollywood, Fla. (ESPN2): Glen Johnson vs. TBA, 10 rounds, light heavyweights some of these obviously won't come off, and they're obviously not all Pacquiao level stars, but its nice to see some names AND a title fight on free tv too. This, along with Vs. showing quality fights, along with the rumors of HBO nixing mismatches seems to point to another good year of boxing.
IF boxing can utilize cable networks the way UFC has, it definitely wouldn't hurt the sport, I have seen some great fights on FNF, but yes, sadly no ringcard girls :|
Some damn good fights in thier, Ngoudjo vs Urango should be great. It's good to see ESPN actually putting some resources into boxing for once, now that Solo Boxeo is gone we need all the remaining boxing programs to lift their quality up a notch. Friday Night Fights is one of the few boxing shows the average sports fan is likely to watch, we need some good fights on their to try and pick up some new fans.
If HBO really does start nixing mismatches, it would be great to see ESPN or Vs. step in and try to pick them up, rather than promoters putting it on some shitty PPV for 40,000 buys. Maybe I'm being TOO optimistic, but it would be great to see some big names on cable and it might help draw in some new fans, rather than keeping on showing b level fighters...
I can't wait for Gamboa vs Gonzales.....and my boy Odlanier Solis fighting for the first time in the US! ohh...what a night that'll be!
I could be wrong but it seems ESPN always starts out with a strong schedule and then they drop off as the year progresses. Throw in the occasional fight falling through and I'm a bit skeptical about ESPN improving their overall shows by much. Still, the first 5-6 weeks listed look good I'm looking foward to the Henry-Mack fight the most. But the first week with Gamboa and Solis taking a nice step up with Beck looks to be a good card as well.
