The ESPN version of PBC might be my least favorite yet.
Teddy Atlas,always an opinionated commentator,appears to have been muted by the Al Haymon bunch and there appears to be way too many voices fighting for position outside the ring as Bernando Osuna (a strong boxing voice),former WWE commentator Todd Gresham (still learning the game) and ill-informed host Marysol Castro all trying to grab mic time with not enough slices to fill all.
I've attempted to be fair in looking at the PBC host position as this isn't a traditional boxing show,but boxing,much like horse racing,consistently puts broadcasters that aren't knowledgeable enough on the broadcast and therefore in a position to fail.
Castro flubbed several names and seemed lost when doing anything other than promos for future PBC cards.
Once some time has passed,I think the PBC will shake this spot up a bit as their hosts have ranged from surprisingly good (Spike's Dana Jacobson),professional,but borderline disinterested (NBC's Al Michaels),completely reading off the company press release (CBS's Brent Stover) and finally to Castro,who looked to be not only overmatched by the product knowledge but wobbly on the basics of the game as well.
Golden Boy and Top Rank both had to be smiling even a little after watching ESPN's initial foray into the PBC...
Onto the bouts,which saw two less than stimulating bouts each have a little drama,only to be snatched away in the end.
Keith Thurman controlled the first four rounds before being badly hurt by a body shot by light hitting Luis Collazo and being put into safety mode for the next two rounds.
However,Collazo would quietly surrender in his corner from a cut following round seven for a less than satisfying ending for the fans and Thurman,who had failed to live up to his hype as the next great welterweight.
I've always felt that Thurman's power was overrated and he must have doubts after spending two of his last three bouts in retreat mode against less than power punching opposition (Bungu and Collazo).
Keith Thurman has been matched carefully (not uncommon in PBC) and has plenty to prove to me.
The undercard showed why the PBC's mode of building fighters via showcases is a flawed one as hyped and undefeated junior middleweight Tony Harrison didn't know what to do when he stepped up against someone that fought back as Willie Nelson knocked Harrison out in round nine of a dull bout.
I had Harrison slightly ahead entering round nine (77-75),but Nelson showed what you learn when challenged as you move your way up the ranks rather than being fed overmatched opposition.
The knockout saved a less than entertaining contest..
Golden Boy had a pretty good fight going between Mauricio Herrera and Hank Lundy with lots of action on HBO Latino.
The issue became moot as referee Jack Reiss stopped the bout in the fifth round with Herrera cut from an earlier headbutt by Lundy with the response of "The cut has a skin flap hanging over the cut".
On television,the cut appeared to need work,but nowhere near as bad as Reiss thought.
The unsatisfying ending went to the cards with Herrera winning a majority decision.
I had it for Herrera by a point at 48-47 at the time of the reluctant stoppage..
Two WBO title bouts from around the world in the boxing challenge as Donnie Nietes took a unanimous decision over Francisco Rodriguez to keep his light flyweight title and Terry Flanagan earned the vacant lightweight title after Jose Zepeda dislocated an elbow in the second round and was unable to continue.
In the Boxing challenge,I extended my lead to two points over R.L.Malpica at 84-82.
The difference was my selection over Mauricio Herrera over Ramon's of Hank Lundy which gave me one point.
We both earned a point for wins by Keith Thurman and Donnie Nietes and were wrong on the Flanagan-Zepeda and Nelson-Harrison matches....
I may have a podcast go up later tonight/tomorrow morning and maybe another post here as well...
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