Boxing's return to network TV-Is it a deal with the devil?

I've been a strong proponent of boxing needing (yes, needing) to have a presence on network television-I wrote about it here in 2010, for a long long time.
The reason that boxing has become a borderline sport as far as interest goes is because of that lack of presence and of all people, the man that has caused so many problems for the health of the game is now the man that will be returning boxing to the format that made the sport so easy to follow in the past...

The mysterious Al Haymon, the manager/promoter (although he legally cannot be listed as a promoter) that has accumulated fighters at an amazing (or alarming ) rate has reached a deal for his company to show five prime time cards on NBC, six more on NBC on weekend afternoons and another nine for NBC Sports Network.
The man that gave us the garbage fight of last year (Danny Garcia-Rod Salka), had his fighter give up a belt because he didn't win the sanctioning bodies purse bid (Peter Quillin), matched his fighters so carefully that he damaged their future (too many to list) and has now stuck it to two networks (HBO and Showtime) by refusing to have his fighters fight decent opposition and then hot-footing it elsewhere, is now the person that could have given boxing the hand up that it needs for larger interest in the sport.

The series will debut with Keith Thurman against Robert Guerrero in the main event in March with Adrien Broner against John Molina in the co-feature.
I'm not as big on these bouts as many seem to be, but the main event is comparable, if not exceeding some,to the events on HBO and Showtime in recent years and Broner is being moved again by Haymon with skill in fighting the loser of last years fight of the year (Molina's KO loss to Lucas Matthysse) instead of the winner.
I would bet that Haymon thinks Molina may have left much of himself back in the Matthysse fight and hopes a Broner showcase against a fighter that could be shopworn will restore some of the luster lost by Broner in his loss to Marcos Maidana.
Molina's decision loss to Humberto Soto in his return for the Matthysse loss confirms this suspicion.

I've never been much of a Robert Guerrero fan and have always thought that he was force-fed by Golden Boy and later Al Haymon down fight fans throats.
Guerrero has zero knockouts against top competition and when your best career wins are over Andre Berto (another Al Haymon creation) Yoshihiro Kamegai, Michael Katsidis, and a faded Joel Casamayor, you are a cut below the championship level-no matter the belts you win or how many times you are talked about as such.
However, as in his wins over Kamegai and more notably Berto, if you match Guerrero on the right level and with a fighter that will stand in front of him, Guerrero can give you an entertaining bout.
The problem with that and a potential matchup with Keith Thurman is this-If Thurman is what so many think that he is-a coming star (I'm far from convinced) than a fighter with Guerrero's style and talent will result in a one-sided blowout.
If Guerrero is able to stand in there with Thurman in a competitive bout, then my skepticism on Thurman being another Berto could be warranted.
Thurman has his own problems with weak competition and a dreadfully dull effort against unknown Leonard Bundu in his last bout makes this a must-shine bout for Thurman.
I have a feeling that what looks like a good card is really just showcase bouts with bigger names, but the B-sides to the dance always try hard, so it still should be worth watching.

The April card had just one bout announced, but it's a big one as WBA and WBC Jr.Welterweight champ Danny Garcia will attempt to add IBF champion Lamont Peterson's belt in a title unification bout.
These two fought clubfighters in arguably the worst card ever by a pay network last year when they could have been fighting each other.
The fact that they didn't was the first reason that Al Haymon's plans for NBC began to leak out after Haymon refused to match them despite Haymon managing both.
Garcia looked very vulnerable in his "win" (I thought he lost to Mauricio Herrera) and Peterson was blown out by Lucas Matthysse, who Garcia decisioned.
Still, this is the type of bout that I hope Haymon brings to this series-Important and could be action-packed.

Don't get me wrong, I think this series has huge potential for boxing and Al Haymon and could get even bigger, and here's why.
What if this becomes a success and perhaps another network thinks it's a good idea?
For example, say ABC decides to have a series that it could cross-promote with ESPN showing a higher level of fighter.
Boxing could suddenly become red hot again and be all over television- that's a good thing.
The problem is that you just don't know how Al Haymon is going to run things.
I highly doubt that you'll see crap like Garcia-Salka on NBC, but if he leans more towards the Broner-Molina fight types than bigger ones, the air could go out of the balloon quickly.

The biggest loser in this appears to be Showtime, who built some of these guys up and watched Haymon take them to NBC (Showtime is owned by CBS) possibly to not return the favor.
Even if Haymon fighters do fight on Showtime, I'd bet the best that the network gets is prospects and showcase fights.
I discussed this on a past podcast with Ramon Malpica last year that I would not be surprised that Showtime eventually shutters its boxing department under conditions that are appearing to be arriving-Golden Boy moving many fighters to HBO, Haymon's guys with NBC and Floyd Mayweather owing the network just two more bouts, Showtime could either end things or go to a cheaper program with European fights, which wouldn't be all bad.

This could be a great improvement for boxing in exposure and bringing boxing back to the average sports fan.
I am a believer that it can be extremely successful, but it really comes down to Al Haymon.
Can Haymon do what's best for the sport long term and balance that with his wallet short term?
Is he willing to work with others? We will see, but I am very interested to find out.....