Premiere Boxing Champions

The highly touted Premier Boxing Champions series finally began on NBC with two bouts and another on NBCSN last night and it was a mixed bag as any project is when it starts from scratch.
Usually,I'll talk about the bouts and the Boxing Challenge (R.L.Malpica gained one point on the night to lead 19-17 on the season),but I want to bring out the bullet points and I'll add a few words on the day's upset that WASN'T part of the PBC at the end of the piece....

Things that I liked about the broadcast.

1) Liked the guys being in suit and tie in the buildup spots and during the bumper scenes.
Added a bit of professionalism in our sport that often lacks it...

2) Al Michaels was smooth enough as a host and even though some on the internet were harsh on Marv Albert and Ray Leonard at the mic,I thought they were Ok,albeit rusty.
I think they should be better in April...

3) Many think the the lack of entourage and shortened ring walks took away the fighters personalities.
Personally.I didn't mind that,but what you did see was the subtle touch of Al Haymon (like Vince McMahon) building the PBC brand more than the individual fighters.
I liked it,but many didn't.

4) I thought the graphics were clear,easy to read and identified who was who quickly and with ease.
Sounds like a no brainer,but too often in sports-that is often not the case.

5) Keith Thurman's win over Robert Guerrero was exciting enough,but it still was a one-sided fight.
That bout saved the night,but they will need more competitive fights as the series moves on...

6) I hope the video circle or whatever they named it will be traveling from arena to arena.
It adds an aspect that is often missing from the product and was a nice touch,

Things that I didn't

1) Hated the ring announcer.
Added no drama,little excitement and generally left me flat.
I missed Michael Buffer or Jimmy Lennon Jr and perhaps they are locked up exclusively for others,but someone other than the person that they are using has to be brought in....

2) Kenny Rice is not great on interviews,but even worse on blow by blow (he did the Abner Mares fight on NBCSN),I could do without him and I thought B.J,Flores and Laila Ali were just OK as the corner reporters.
I'll look at the corner reporters as a work in progress,but I think that needs a little bit of refining the role.
Too bad that the knowledgeable Jessica Rosales from Fox Sports One wasn't available for this role and I wish someone would have talked to Steve Farhood about his unofficial scorecard instead just flashing it.

3) Adrien Broner has always been more style than substance and he confirmed that with another tedious victory ,this one over John Molina,who has now lost three fights in a row.
I thought this would be a dull one from the day it was signed and I hoped Broner would turn it up a bit late considering the event and try to be more exciting.
Instead,he was content to bore and get a W over a limited fighter that was there for the picking.
Time for Al Haymon to face it-Broner is Floyd Mayweather lite-Little power,lots of defense,overly defensive and image comes first.
Considering all that and that the real reason fans watch Mayweather is to see him get beat (watch his ratings/PPV buys fall when that happens) with the fact that Broner already has a loss and you truly have a limited draw and a somnolent fighter.

4) Good thing for the evening that Abner Mares and his win over Arturo Reyes was moved to NBCSN because it was another less than thrilling bout.
I thought Mares won a close decision,but no way by the scores on the judges cards.
If I am Al Haymon,I get Mares in the ring for Leo Santa Cruz ASAP because when he fights a top 20 fighter-he's losing and the name might as well go on the resume' of Santa Cruz while it still means something.
Jhonny Gonzalez seems to have ruined a promising career with his one round demolition of Mares...

5) The Keith Thurman-Robert Guerrero bout saved the night for the PBC,but lets keep some perspective.
It wasn't a fight of the year candidate,it was a one-sided bout (I had it 10-2 for Thurman in rounds,118-109 on points) that showed some nice exchanges and lots of heart by Guerrero.
For all the Keith Thurman "One Time" hype,he has yet to stop a top 20 fighter with one shot.
Thurman punches so much better when throwing in combinations,I think he'd be successful changing his style slightly.

6) I heard only one name from anyone about a non-PBC fighter (Lucas Matthysse) and that was to praise the punching power of John Molina.
Add that to the relentless pushing of Peter Quillin for the next card when the champion,Andy Lee,just has a quick half second picture flashed because he is a non-PBC fighter and you have a McMahonesque creation in the making.
I say that because Vince McMahon would never mention anyone that didn't wrestle for his group and acted like they didn't exist.
It appears that will be the PBC way as well....

It wouldn't fair to not mention the upset of the day where the touted Chinese Olympian Zou Shiming dropped a unanimous decision to  the IBF Flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng.
Ruenroeng survived a knockdown that wasn't really one and a huge crowd in China to post a clear decision (115-112 on my card).
I was all prepared for a bad decision considering the home crowd,money that Shiming brings in from China and time that his promoter Top Rank has put into him,but the judges got it right with their cards.
I wonder if HBO would consider bringing Ruenroeng back for a mini-flyweight tourney with WBC champ and very talented Roman Gonzalez and WBA champion Juan Francisco Estrada?
A unified champion with a few wins by Shiming would give plenty attention to the flyweights and offer what I think would be a series of great fights......