Spike's Premiere of PBC,Berto stops Lopez

Photo Credit-PBC

Spike's debut with the PBC was a mixed bag and we'll look at what I liked and disliked about the show shortly,but first the fights and the boxing challenge results.

In the main event that should have been hyped as "loser leaves boxing" Andre Berto knocked Josesito Lopez down twice in the sixth round and finished the show when the referee stopped the bout.
I thought the stoppage was a bit premature and had Lopez winning four of the first five rounds.
The win will likely keep Berto on the periphery of title contention,but I have a feeling that Berto might be overmatched against the best of the division.
In the better than expected co-feature,former IBF 147 pound champion Shawn Porter stopped Erick Bone in the fifth round.
The last minute replacement Bone fought hard and kept things competitive for four rounds until a body shot stunned Bone in the fifth.
Not sure what this proved for Porter on the rebound against a smaller,outgunned opponent,but Bone did try hard in a very difficult situation,

The boxing challenge saw me gain a point and snip the lead of R.L.Malpica to one point at 23-22.
We both earned four points for the Berto and Porter wins and knockouts.but I snared a bonus point for picking Porter's round correctly in the fifth.
The challenge continues tonight with two (maybe three) bouts on HBO...

We move on to the Spike production of their first card for Premiere Boxing Champions and a a few words on that.
When I saw the names involved with the Spike cards,I must admit to rolling my eyes a bit.
Dana Jacobson,who I had never been a fan of going back years to her days on the ill-fated Cold Pizza on ESPN, as host?
Scott Hanson from NFL Red Zone as the blow by blow man?
I admit to thinking,where is their boxing background? Are they fans or is this another example of television networks thinking anyone can cover boxing without even a minimal background?
Well,both were at least well-prepared for this one.
Hanson needs more experience on blow by blow and there was an occasional hiccup,but for a first try,he was more than acceptable,but the real surprise came with Jacobson.
I'm big enough (literally) to admit when I was wrong and I was on this night.
I had been very critical of Dana Jacobson in her ESPN days,but she was prepared,knew her stuff,didn't stumble over name pronunciation  (like happened all night on NBC's PBC telecast) and came across as classy and yes,even charming in her role as host.
Jacobson walked Thomas Hearns through their discussions with kindness and care and for that, I am grateful.
You see the "Hitman" is one of my favorite fighters ever,but the long career and punches taken have left the "Motor City Cobra" more than a bit hard to understand and his thoughts can sometime wander off point.
Dana Jacobson got the needed perspective out of Hearns and did it in a way that allowed Hearns to have his dignity.
Very well done and I'm glad to say I was wrong about Jacobson being the wrong hire for the position.

Not all was smooth though as I still had a few issues.

After two PBC shows,I'm still not a fan of the ring announcer.
I'm not a fan of him being outside the ring and he doesn't really build drama either..

I know Spike is trying to brand their Friday nights as a combat sports block with Boxing,kick-boxing and MMA,but it seemed like PBC's broadcast was more MMA than boxing.
The arena seemed more like a large television studio than a live venue and it didn't standout from the other Spike sports.

The sound was really off.
It was often hard to hear the announcers and in ring interviews and that needs to be addressed before the next show..

I think PBC made an error by keeping Spike's MMA commentator Jimmy Smith with this venture.
Not that Smith is bad,but I think Antonio Tarver is quite good and Smith's (or anyone else's) presence reduces Tarver's analysis time.
Considering that Scott Hanson will be learning on the fly,Spike might be better suited to go with a basic two man booth for now.
Smith may be a boxing fan (I don't know),but he clearly is more suited for MMA.

I give this a solid B+ with the surprises and in simple presentation,I liked Spike's performance better than I liked NBC's.
Sometimes bigger names does not mean better performance