HBO launched Boxing After Dark in February 1996 with the premise of making competitive action packed fights. It had a lower budget than the World Championship Boxing series but a budget that was strong enough to make good fights in which either fighter could realistically win. The results were of course incredible with many memorable fights and many enjoyable late nights for fights fans watching good boxing.
The premise of the series has slowly changed over its 20 plus years and now has become more or less a showcase stage for fighters. Felix Verdejo is the latest example of a fighter appearing on boxing after dark in fights well that he was very heavily favored and the show basically serving as a showcase for him instead of good competitive boxing.
HBO needs to go back to the roots of the series that began in 1996 and just make competitive fights. Maybe add in a little good matchmaking like the show had in its early years and not only can you get competitive fights but ones that are very entertaining with the potential for something special.
With that in mind, here are some low budget fights (one in each weight class) that HBO can realistically make and put on Boxing After Dark that will be competitive as well as fan friendly.
Heavyweight - Eric Molina vs. Andrey Fedosov - Competitive fight between two brawlers with the winner being positioned for a big shot in the division
Cruiserweight - Krzysztof Glowacki - Oleksandt Usyk - This fight is made and can be bought cheap. What the original Boxing After Dark was about
Light Heavyweight - Vyacheslav Shabranskyy - Sean Monaghan - Good action fight, winner would be natural for winner of Kovalev-Ward
Super Middleweight - Gilberto Ramirez - Rogelio Medina - Medina a punching machine, good test for Ramirez
Middleweight - Tureano Johnson - Curtis Stevens II - First fight entertaining and controversial, lets do it again.
Jr. Middleweight - Pablo Cesar Cano - Javier Prieto and pair with Yoshihiro Kamegai-Jesus Soto Karass II - All out wars, if this card happens I don't care where or how much I am there
Welterweight - Brandon Rios - Mike Alvarado IV - Okay three was bad but first two great; Alvarado rededicated and Rios coming back, why not?
Jr. Welterweight - Raymund Beltran - Adrian Granados - Good competitive action fight that wold have been perfect co-feature on any BAD card in 90's
Lightweight - Petr Petrov - Michael Perez - Another fight that would be a war; both face first come forward fighters who like to slug
Jr Lightweight - Jason Sosa - Takashi Miura - Styles make fights and these two would be in the trenches for 12 or less
Featherweight - Ronny Rios - Robinson Castellanos II - Rios much better since first fight, lot of intrigue and good fight
Jr. Featherweight - Diego De La Hoya - Alejandro Hernandez - Big test for De La Hoya, if he is the goods he passes; Hernandez much better than record
And finally skipping a few weight classes (would love HBO to venture for some fighters overseas in the smaller weights but probably not likely)
Flyweight - Roman Gonzalez - Juan Estrada II - Please HBO, please make this. It just common sense. A great doubleheader would be adding Brian Vilora-McWilliams Arroyo.
This is something like I want to see back from HBO. No more showcasing, time to bring back the original Boxing After Dark that fans loved. Did anyone see the buzz Soto Karass-Kamegai received this year? Boxing fans knew this would be good and did not care about the rankings, etc. It was just a great action fight on paper that lived up to all promises. HBO used to make these kind of fights and can do so again very easily. Most fights above are very economical and much better than say Kovalev-Chilemba, Ward-Brand, Verdejo-Silva, etc.
The premise of the series has slowly changed over its 20 plus years and now has become more or less a showcase stage for fighters. Felix Verdejo is the latest example of a fighter appearing on boxing after dark in fights well that he was very heavily favored and the show basically serving as a showcase for him instead of good competitive boxing.
HBO needs to go back to the roots of the series that began in 1996 and just make competitive fights. Maybe add in a little good matchmaking like the show had in its early years and not only can you get competitive fights but ones that are very entertaining with the potential for something special.
With that in mind, here are some low budget fights (one in each weight class) that HBO can realistically make and put on Boxing After Dark that will be competitive as well as fan friendly.
Heavyweight - Eric Molina vs. Andrey Fedosov - Competitive fight between two brawlers with the winner being positioned for a big shot in the division
Cruiserweight - Krzysztof Glowacki - Oleksandt Usyk - This fight is made and can be bought cheap. What the original Boxing After Dark was about
Light Heavyweight - Vyacheslav Shabranskyy - Sean Monaghan - Good action fight, winner would be natural for winner of Kovalev-Ward
Super Middleweight - Gilberto Ramirez - Rogelio Medina - Medina a punching machine, good test for Ramirez
Middleweight - Tureano Johnson - Curtis Stevens II - First fight entertaining and controversial, lets do it again.
Jr. Middleweight - Pablo Cesar Cano - Javier Prieto and pair with Yoshihiro Kamegai-Jesus Soto Karass II - All out wars, if this card happens I don't care where or how much I am there
Welterweight - Brandon Rios - Mike Alvarado IV - Okay three was bad but first two great; Alvarado rededicated and Rios coming back, why not?
Jr. Welterweight - Raymund Beltran - Adrian Granados - Good competitive action fight that wold have been perfect co-feature on any BAD card in 90's
Lightweight - Petr Petrov - Michael Perez - Another fight that would be a war; both face first come forward fighters who like to slug
Jr Lightweight - Jason Sosa - Takashi Miura - Styles make fights and these two would be in the trenches for 12 or less
Featherweight - Ronny Rios - Robinson Castellanos II - Rios much better since first fight, lot of intrigue and good fight
Jr. Featherweight - Diego De La Hoya - Alejandro Hernandez - Big test for De La Hoya, if he is the goods he passes; Hernandez much better than record
And finally skipping a few weight classes (would love HBO to venture for some fighters overseas in the smaller weights but probably not likely)
Flyweight - Roman Gonzalez - Juan Estrada II - Please HBO, please make this. It just common sense. A great doubleheader would be adding Brian Vilora-McWilliams Arroyo.
This is something like I want to see back from HBO. No more showcasing, time to bring back the original Boxing After Dark that fans loved. Did anyone see the buzz Soto Karass-Kamegai received this year? Boxing fans knew this would be good and did not care about the rankings, etc. It was just a great action fight on paper that lived up to all promises. HBO used to make these kind of fights and can do so again very easily. Most fights above are very economical and much better than say Kovalev-Chilemba, Ward-Brand, Verdejo-Silva, etc.
HBO Needs to Bring Back the Original Boxing After Dark
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