Let's grade HBO FOR ALL OF 2012

Many of use have lamented HBO's precipitous decline. Since it is less than a quarter past this year, let us grade the premium boxing network.

January: No fights

Grade F

February 4, 2012

JCL JR. V MARCO RUBIO MAIN EVENT

GRADE D-

SUPPORT : DONAIRE V . VASQUEZ

GRADE C (SHIT decision, dONAIRE LOOKED Bored. He still won going away and managed an SD.

FEB 25 , 2012

MARCOS MAIDANA V. DEVON ALEXANDER

GRADE D

MAIDANA is a clubfighter and Alexander has that shitty run and hold "ST. LOUIS Style." Bad idea on paper, worse to watch

Broner v. Perez( support)

grade D

Broner was in with a guy 2 weight divisions smaller. A mismatch on paper and in reality.

MARCH 17, 2012

SERGIO PUSSY V. Macklin

Grade D

Mismatch on paper, but Sergio Pussy's cowardly run , run and run some more style kept his overmatched opponent confident until late. A disgrace of a defense by a disgrace of a fighter

Rodriguez v. George

grade f

UNWORTHY of premium time. Rodriguez may get knocked out after winning a few rounds in a few years. George was a clubfighter. Typical of fighters in 2012. Neither guy showed much spirit or desire to win. Rodriguez was content slapping is overmatched foe for 10 rounds without ever trying to make an impression. sHIT ON Paper. Shit in reality.

 

Lets not...

 

Wasn't there a card in January?

 

:: --------------->HBO<-----------------::

Just show fights. Drop the agenda. Drop the BS. Get commentators who are happy to be there. Don't sell us Mack vs Martinez for the "Real" Championship, and then happily and openly charge us just the same for Lee vs Diuretic Boy immediately after.

Boxing is a simple simple business, and they are fucking it up and annoying people.

 

it doesnt look good so far. morales vs garcia should be better than all the fights so far

 

Kirkland-Molina promises to be a good fight also.

 

Facking hell that is a ball bruising run of fights

 

I'm just waiting for mikE to explain to us why this run is actually excellent and shows what great shape the sport is in

 

Well, yeah. A bunch of those fighters were undefeated. :nono:

Does the fact that Eloy Perez was wired on coke make it a better win for Broner?

 

Nope, first one scheduled was Morales-Garcia/Kirkland-Molina, but was postponed to this weekend.

2/4 Main Event Chavez Jr-Rubio
In terms of relevance and potential, I'd say B+. Say what you want, ratings suggest people care about JCC Jr.
In terms of outcome - C+. A letdown, but not completely disappointing.
Support: Donaire-Vazquez
Relevance - B. Outcome - C+ (decent but not great or even very good fight, shaky decision)

2/25 Alexander-Maidana
Relevance/Potential - C-. Showcase fight for Alexander, false hope on Maidana being anything more than a limited bruiser who was out of his element.
Outcome - B-. So-so fight, not terrible but fairly predictable
Support: Broner-Perez
Relevance/potential - A-,but only in terms of what Broner can do and what he means for future of division
Outcome - B. Perez proved he didn't belong, but Broner proved he belongs at/near top of division (though Uchiyama still has plenty to say about who's #1)

3/17 Martinez-Macklin
Relevance/Potential - A.
Outcome - A-. Not sure what the beef is. Was very entertaining fight and satisfactory finish.
Rodriguez/George
Relevance/Potential - C. Was added to card only under belief it'd be a fun fight.
Outcome - F. Fight fell miles short of all-action sales pitch; Rodriguez is supposed to be future star, but looks like he has already peaked. George is a never-was and proved as much.

This weekend, I expect Kirkland/Molina to be a fun fight, and winner is def. a future title contender.
Morales/Garcia is being sold as FOTY candidate, but I honestly see potential for a huge letdown, esp. if Garcia gets control early and turns it into a boxing match.

 

If Morales and Kirkland fights are boring then i might give up watching boxing.

 

Disappointing at best. Too much Chavez Jr. for my taste.

 

It's a bad stretch, but whatever. it's not even 3 months.

I like Maidana a lot and thought that was a good fight on paper. It's bullshit to judge fights after the fact. I think there were some good fights that got pushed back in Jan as I remember, tho they might have been showtime.

 

The other thing is that you have HBO passing on 2 heavyweight title fights and a cruiser titlist vs the 3rd best heavy fight. That would have made things look much better, especially since Vitali/Chisora had plenty to talk about and Huck came in at 208 lbs and won 'the fight' against Povetkin.

 

I agree with Mike.

Vitali vs Chisora, especially considering the American Public's taste for "controversy" and Huck vs Povetkin, would have all been good enough for HBO.

Of course you can always hear it in Jim Lampleys voice that he doesn't like "waiting for information to come back from our truck because German TV won't share so we can't bring you our usually stunning level of commentary"...........so it is natural to give it a miss, of course, of course.

Sergio Pussy vs Mack Da Knifed was a much better fight, with that George vs Random Latin Fighter on the undercard.

Solid event.

 

Klitschko fights are expensive and usually shit.

 

Only expensive because HBO rip you off.

 

NBCSN is showing Judah-Paris live this weekend

This channel is awesome, tons of NHL hockey and now they are showing a great fight between a couple of youngbloods in their prime.

 

Incorrect on that part. The Klitschkos already have a lucrative TV deal overseas. In fact, with the exception of the Haye fight, HBO spends FAR LESS on securing US rights for Klitschko fights than they do for most of the bouts that air exclusively on HBO World Championship Boxing series.

Think about it - if they were THAT expensive, then how is it that networks like EPIX and ESPN Classic are able to secure rights?

 

They're also airing "Fight Night 36: Zab Judah" on Wednesday. Looking forward to that.

Not sure if your post was serious or meant as tongue-in-cheek, but felt the need to add that note anyway.

 

How many fights are being shown on the card?

I see that Liakhovich-Jennings and Adamek-Aguilera are on the undercard.

 

My bad. I'm going back a few years now, but I thought HBO blew a bunch of their budget of Klitschko/Austin?

 

Tripleheader. Main Events wheeled and dealed to have Adamek-Aguilera added last minute.

 

nice

 

I'm sure they did. HBO has never been wise with its money.

There is also a difference, though, between HBO securing exclusive rights and just serving as the U.S. feed. HBO has passed on quite a few of the latter - I'm more than willing to bet it's that and NOT the alleged lack of public interest which serves as the cause for their reluctance to remain in the Klitschko business.

 

Unfortunately for you, public demand (read: ratings) suggest otherwise. Chavez and Saul Alvarez can be criticized for their level of opposition, but the fact is that the network gets its money's worth in terms of viewership.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Oh, they only have one budget, do they?? And ironically, that was a great performance with a fast, handsome ending. Triple left hook to the noggin.

 

Other than the phrase "couple of youngbloods" my post was 100% serious. This channel puts on an amazing lineup for my tastes, and Im pumped for this weekends card. Really looking forward to seeing old man Zabdiel put on a 2 and a half round boxing clinic on Paris before shelling up.

 

Neat. Cool story bro.

::

HBO have always been full of it, in my opinion. They remind me of the Chinese retailers I do business with- they very openly and brazenly offer you the real thing for the full price and then offer you a second or a reject for half the price, referring to both items as "real and genuine".

The key difference with HBO is that they will try to offer you the Macklin vs Martinez fight {Real MW Championship} and the Chavez vs Lee fight {fake MW title fight} for pretty much the same subscription and ppv whack.