Boxing After Dark

Last updated
Boxing After Dark
Boxing After Dark logo.jpg
GenreSports
Starringvarious
Country of originUnited States
Original release
Network HBO
ReleaseFebruary 3, 1996 (1996-02-03) 
December 8, 2018 (2018-12-08)
Related
HBO World Championship Boxing

Boxing After Dark is an HBO boxing program, premiered on February 3, 1996, that usually showed fights between well-known contenders, but usually not "championship" or "title" fights. Unlike its sister program, HBO World Championship Boxing , BAD featured fighters who were usually moving up from ESPN's Friday Night Fights or another basic cable boxing program. This was where fighters were given their start to become famous depending on how well they fare on BAD they might have a title fight on World Championship Boxing or could fall back (Ex: Jason Litzau had many entertaining fights on ESPN before moving up to BAD to face Jose Hernandez. After Litzau lost by knockout he returned to FNF)

Contents

It usually aired at least once a month, following a World Championship Boxing card on HBO. Boxing After Dark debuted on HBO Canada beginning January 17, 2009 at 9:45 pm. ET/7:45 pm. MT

History

Boxing After Dark, or BAD for short, got its start on February 3, 1996 with commentators Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant. The first fight shown was an exciting 12-rounder featuring a then-unknown Marco Antonio Barrera and Kennedy McKinney. Barrera won by KO. Since then, BAD has prided itself on promoting fights between lesser-caliber fighters with something to prove, though occasionally well-known fighters, usually those signed by HBO, may make appearances.

Tenth season revamp

In 2006, BAD entered its tenth season with an all-new lineup. Lampley, Merchant and Emanuel Steward would now call only WCB and pay-per-view fights. Replacing them were Fran Charles, former ESPN and Fox Sports Net analyst Max Kellerman who received "something in the neighborhood of $10,000 for each Boxing After Dark telecast" (according to Thomas Hauser) and former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. Kellerman and Lewis had previously appeared on world championship and pay-per-view events for HBO as analysts and continue to do so. [1] This season has featured mostly fights at lesser weights, a BAD staple, as well as new theme music and logo. On March 13, 2007, Fran Charles was replaced by Bob Papa due to scheduling conflicts with the NFL Network. Lampley has also on occasion stepped in for Charles and Papa. [2]

Beginning in 2013, the teams for BAD and World Championship Boxing became identical. Lampley, Kellerman, and Roy Jones Jr. called all boxing events for HBO with rare exceptions. Andre Ward and Bernard Hopkins served as substitutes for Jones.

The end of Boxing After Dark

On September 27, 2018, HBO announced they would be dropping boxing from the network following its last televised match on October 27, although there was an additional airing on December 8, 2018. Several reasons were given for the cancellation, including rapidly declining ratings, an increasing number of options for boxing on other channels, surveys that showed boxing was no longer one of the reasons people purchased HBO subscriptions, a lack of marquee boxing contests, and HBO corporate position that the service is "not a sports network." [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>HBO World Championship Boxing</i> American TV sports series (1973–2018)

HBO World Championship Boxing is an American sports television series on premium television network HBO. It premiered on January 22, 1973 with a fight that saw George Foreman defeat Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica.

James Lampley is an American sportscaster, news anchor, film producer, and restaurant owner. He was best known as a blow-by-blow announcer on HBO World Championship Boxing for 30 years. He also had covered a record 14 Olympic Games on U.S. television, most recently the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

USA Tuesday Night Fights is a television boxing show. It aired from October 1, 1982, through August 25, 1998 on the USA Network; at one time it was the longest continually-running boxing show on television. The show debuted on October 1, 1982, as Friday Night Boxing (1982-1984), and then, Wednesday Night Fights (1984-1986), and later, Thursday Night Fights (1986-1990).

Barry David Tompkins is an American sportscaster. He is better known for his work as a boxing commentator, but he has covered football and other sports.

Larry Merchant is an American sportswriter, a longtime commentator for HBO sports presentations of HBO World Championship Boxing, Boxing After Dark and HBO pay-per-view telecasts, called "the greatest television boxing analyst of all time" by some, including ESPN Boxing analyst Dan Rafael.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Kellerman</span> American sports radio host and commentator

Max Kellerman is an American sports television personality and boxing commentator. Until his departure from ESPN in June 2023, he was the host of This Just In with Max Kellerman and the co-host of Keyshawn, JWill and Max on ESPN Radio. He previously was a co-host of ESPN talk show First Take alongside Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim. He also previously was the co-host of the sports radio talk show Max & Marcellus, with Marcellus Wiley, on ESPNLA. Kellerman hosted the ESPN panel talk show Around the Horn from the show's incarnation in 2002 until 2004 and co-hosted the sports comedy talk show SportsNation, alongside Wiley and Michelle Beadle, from 2013 until 2016. He was also a studio commentator with Brian Kenny on Friday Night Fights and a color commentator for HBO World Championship Boxing and Boxing After Dark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andre Ward</span> American boxer

Andre Michael Ward is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2017. He retired with an undefeated record and held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including unified super middleweight titles between 2009 and 2015, and unified light heavyweight titles between 2016 and 2017.

The cable television network ESPN has occasionally broadcast boxing events over the majority of its history, as part of several arrangements, including contracts with specific promotions and consortiums such as Golden Boy Promotions, Premier Boxing Champions, and Top Rank, as well as Friday Night Fights—a semi-regular series that was broadcast by ESPN and ESPN2 from 1998 through 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Papa</span> American sportscaster (born 1964)

Robert L. Papa is an American sportscaster who is currently the radio play-by-play voice for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). Papa also is the lead broadcaster for PGA Tour Champions events on Golf Channel and has been the blow-by-blow announcer on many professional boxing telecasts, notably for ESPN and for HBO’s Boxing After Dark series.

Ricardo "Rocky" Juárez is an American former professional boxer. He is a former WBC Silver featherweight champion and a multiple-time world title challenger. Juarez was known over his career for his aggressive fighting style and incredible durability.

Jason John Litzau is an American former professional boxer who competed between 2002 and 2016. He challenged once for the IBF featherweight title in 2008.

Showtime Championship Boxing was a television boxing program airing on Showtime. Debuting in March 1986, it is broadcast live on the first Saturday of every month. Showtime Championship Boxing, which is very similar to HBO World Championship Boxing, features Mauro Ranallo on play-by-play, Al Bernstein as the color analyst, Jimmy Lennon as ring announcers, and Jim Gray as reporter.

'Iceman' John Scully is a former American boxer. Formerly a world-ranked professional light heavyweight, he is now a boxing trainer who has trained two light heavyweight champions in Chad Dawson and Artur Beterbiev and is an analyst for the ESPN Classic television network. John is also known for his work with disadvantaged former fighters and charity for them as well as organizing events targeting former amateur standout fighters and reconnecting them with the boxing community.

CBS has occasionally broadcast boxing events; its first broadcast occurred in 1948. The network's most recent broadcasts of the sport have fallen under Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions banner, and its most recent primetime broadcasts have been produced by sister pay television channel Showtime.

Boxing on NBC is the de facto title for NBC Sports' boxing television coverage.

Tennis on HBO is a television program produced by the premium cable television network HBO that broadcasts the main professional tennis tournaments in the United States. In 1975, HBO began airing coverage of Wimbledon and did so until 1999. In 2009, HBO broadcast the inaugural Billie Jean King Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergey Kovalev</span> Russian boxer

Sergey Alexandrovich Kovalev is a Russian professional boxer. He has held multiple light-heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Undisputed) and IBF titles from 2014 to 2016, and the WBO title three times between 2013 and 2019. Nicknamed the "Krusher", Kovalev is particularly known for his exceptional punching power, although he describes himself as "just a regular boxer".

Sullivan Barrera is a Cuban professional boxer. As an amateur, he won the middleweight gold medal at the 2000 AIBA Junior World Championships. He challenged once for the WBA light heavyweight title in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boxing in the United States</span> Sport in a geographic region

The origins of Boxing in the United States can be traced as far back as the 19th century. Boxing, as, a form of martial art and solo sport, has been around for centuries. Some people practice it as a form of self-defence while doing it as a part of their workout regime. The United States became the center of professional boxing in the early 20th century.

Boxing on ABC refers to a series of boxing events that have been televised on the American Broadcasting Company. Many of these events aired under the Wide World of Sports banner which began on April 11, 1964 when challenger Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, defeated champion Sonny Liston in the seventh round. ABC's final boxing card occurred on June 17, 2000.

References

  1. Ben Grossman (April 21, 2006). "HBO Names New Boxing After Dark Team". nexttv.com. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  2. Mark Vester (March 13, 2007). "Fran Charles Being Replaced by HBO on B.A.D." boxingscene.com. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  3. Matthews, Wallace (September 27, 2018). "HBO Says It Is Leaving the Boxing Business". The New York Times. Retrieved September 27, 2018.