Notebook: NBC makes deal to bring Boxxer events to U.S. market

Jake Paul set for next fight; two Don King cards on tap; new date for Broner; Quick hits; Show and tell

Dan Rafael

Oct 17, 2023

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Boxxer, one of the leading promoters in the United Kingdom, will now have its events shown in the United States after finalizing a rights deal with NBC Sports, which has a rich tradition of boxing coverage.

The deal was announced on Monday and means that Boxxer’s events, beginning with the card headlined by the WBA light heavyweight title eliminator between Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez on Saturday at The O2 in London, will stream live on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming platform, with select events to also air on the main NBC network.

“We’re delighted to announce this landmark partnership with NBC Sports in what is a major moment for the company, allowing audiences across the USA to watch our stars in action throughout the year,” Boxxer CEO Ben Shalom said. “NBC Sports reaches millions of fans every day, providing an incredible platform stateside for Boxxer and our elite roster. We look forward to kickstarting the partnership with a huge show on (Saturday) as Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez put it all on the line at The O2 in London.”

Terms of the agreement were not announced but with the deal in place, Boxxer has longer range plans to sign more talent and put on events in the U.S. Boxxer events air in the U.K. and Ireland on Sky Sports, which shares parent company Comcast with NBCUniversal.

“The new partnership between Boxxer and NBC Sports will create a powerful extension to Boxxer’s and Sky Sports’ existing collaboration and provide trans-Atlantic distribution of Sky Sports’ world class production,” according to the announcement. For the time being, the NBC platforms will simulcast the Sky Sports coverage.

Boxxer’s events will join an NBC Sports lineup that also includes the Olympics, “Sunday Night Football” (the No. 1-rated show in the U.S.), Premier League soccer, Big Ten football and basketball, Notre Dame football, NASCAR and golf, among other properties.

The second Boxxer card on Peacock will be headlined by the previously announced bout between European junior welterweight champion Franck Petitjean and red-hot British up-and-comer Adam Azim, who will meet Nov. 18 in Wolverhampton, England.

“We’re excited to bring boxing back to NBC Sports and, with the sport’s debut on Peacock, begin a new chapter in NBC Sports’ storied boxing history,” said NBC Sports vice president Gary Quinn.

NBC’s boxing history began with the first-ever live televised fight in 1939, when Lou Nova defeated Max Baer at Yankee Stadium and it has since showcased legends such as Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, and Larry Holmes.

The last live boxing events to air on the main NBC network came when Premier Boxing Champions boss Al Haymon purchased time on the network and ran a series of mostly prime time cards in 2015 and 2016 that featured, among others, Deontay Wilder, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia, Jermall Charlo and Errol Spence Jr.

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Jake Paul back in action

Jake Paul Returning To Boxing Ring On December 15, Opponent Unknown

Cruiserweight Jake Paul, the content creator turned professional boxer, will be back in action headlining on Dec. 15 against an opponent to be announced.

Unlike his past events, it will be live on DAZN as opposed to on pay-per-view, DAZN and Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions announced on Monday.

Subscribe to DAZN for Jake Paul's fight

The bout will be Paul’s third of the year. In February, Paul (7-1, 4 KOs), 26, of Cleveland, lost an eight-round split decision to Tommy Fury, the first full-time boxer he has faced. In August, he won a one-sided 10-round decision over former UFC star Nate Diaz, who was making his professional boxing debut.

“Eight fights in the boxing game and I’m already its biggest name,” Paul said. “I’ve proved that I can headline the biggest global events and defy the odds. PPV after PPV after PPV, and I’m just getting started. My mission is to be a world champion and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Dec. 15th is the next step on my journey, and I promise you’re not going to want to miss it.”

Listen to our latest podcast episode recapping the weekend fights, news of the week and a look back on the anniversaries of two notable fights.

Boxing News appearance

I joined my friends at Boxing News to discuss various topics, including Showtime’s likely exit from boxing; where PBC might land; prospects of a Gervonta Davis-Isaac Cruz rematch; talk of a Teofimo Lopez-Ryan Garcia fight; Devin Haney-Regis Prograis; Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou and Fury-Oleksandr Usyk; Chris Eubank Jr.-Conor Benn latest; Anthony Joshua-Deontay Wilder deal falling apart; and David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade. Check out the video here:

Quick hits

Promoter Don King announced that former four-division titlist Adrian Broner (35-4-1, 24 KOs) against fellow Cincinnati fighter Chris Howard (18-2-1, 8 KOs) in a welterweight bout will now take place on Dec. 2 (FITE) as the main event of a card at the Casino Miami Jai Alai in Miami, Florida. It was scheduled for Nov. 4 at the same location. King still will put on a show Nov. 4 (FITE) at Casino Miami, which will be headlined by Miami-based Armenia native Noel Mikaelian (26-2, 11 KOs) versus former WBC cruiserweight titlist Ilunga Makabu (29-3, 25 KOs), a Congo native, for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title in a bout originally set as the Broner-Howard co-feature before it changed dates. Makabu lost the belt by 12th-round knockout to Badou Jack in February but Jack has since vacated.

England’s Natasha Jonas (14-2-1, 9 KOs), the IBF women’s welterweight titleholder, has become the first Black woman to obtain a manager’s license from the British Boxing Board of Control. She was also the first woman to represent Great Britain when he competed at the 2012 London Olympics. Jonas manages Mikie Tallon, who is scheduled to make his pro debut on Saturday on a club card in Manchester, England. “All my life I’ve always believed in myself and I’ve never allowed myself to give up,” Jonas said. “I’ve not consciously set out to be first to do anything. I just knew that I wanted to break down barriers and not be scared to do anything just because it hadn’t been done before. That being said, one thing I do like about being first is that it makes you part of history and nobody can take that away from you.”

Show and tell

Among the most devastating fighters I have covered in my career was the prime Gennadiy Golovkin. GGG was an absolute knockout machine who would hurt opponents with punches not even close to full force and he also had an indestructible chin. There was a reason he struggled to get name opponents to fight him for so long despite being a long-reigning middleweight champion.

Finally, David Lemieux, a huge knockout puncher in his own right, who four months earlier had scored four knockdowns en route to a unanimous decision over Hassan N’Dam to win the vacant IBF middleweight title, stepped up to the plate and agreed to face Golovkin in a unification fight.

It would mark Golovkin’s first pay-per-view main event and expectations were sky high for an action fight — for however long it lasted. While it won’t go down as a classic, it was an entertaining fight that Golovkin thoroughly dominated. He dropped Lemieux in the fifth round and led 70-62 on all three scorecards going into the eighth round, which is when he stopped Lemieux. The win ran Golovkin’s consecutive knockout streak to 21 as he unified the WBA and IBF titles before an HBO PPV audience and an electric crowd at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where I was ringside. In the co-feature, the great Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez stopped Brian Viloria in the ninth round to retain the WBC and lineal flyweight title as Golovkin and Gonzalez, like Batman and Robin, appeared together again on a card when they were in their primes and battling for No. 1 pound-for-pound status. The card was on Oct. 17, 2015 — eight years ago on Tuesday. Here is a thin cardboard site poster in my collection.

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