Easy to get back, how hard will it be to hold those 3.4 million viewers NBC got with their first edition of prime time boxing on Saturday evening. What was even more coveted than this was the 18 – 49 year old demographic. NBC conquered this slice of viewers during this time among the public networks. Now with the next episode in the works, APEX Boxing Betting will review if this will be a boon to bring more bettors to the Sweet Science.
Lasting Too Long
Boxing at least learned from the Rousey affair in UFC to not have their main event last fourteen seconds. It would certainly be understandable if it was empathized to Adrien Broner to let the tomato can he was fighting stay in the fight. There was no skill set that his opponent was superior to Adrien in. Molina had lost several fights coming in and reeks of a carefully cultivated fighter to provide fodder for some title defenses in his career. The scoring on the cards indicated the rout that it was. What was frustrating was the feeling that Broner could have knocked his foe out at almost any point. Conspiracy theorists will love the artificial length to this match. This was the safest wager we have seen in quite a while in boxing.
Thurman and Guerrero Saved NBC
Actually it was mostly Thurman that did so. This man took abuse but kept on coming. That hematoma on his face and head near his eye was awful to look at. However when you are young and appreciative of the chance, you stick to your guns. Even though the card totals came close to reflecting the same scores as Bronner, this was much better of a fight. At least Thurman had a punchers chance instead of the horse going to the glue factory look that Molina had. Without this fight, NBC would have to continue on but would be looking to bail at first chance.
Well NBC learned not to use Broner again as the racial overtones of his post fight interview was quickly cut off. The promised tech aspects were severely lacking. In the end, it all came down to story and pitting competitive fighters. Unfortunately, boxing is in short supply of those. We will handicap the next edition on NBC but now it will be for money making instead of trying to enjoy the spectacle or lack there of one.
