''Boxing on Fox'' refers to a series of

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

events produced by

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

and televised by the

Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an Television in the United States, American commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television broadcaster, television network serving as the flagship proper ...

and

Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 1 (branded on-air as FS1) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 airs an array of live sporting events, including Majo ...

History

''Saturday Night Fights'' (1995)

Fox's first foray into boxing aired on December 16, 1995 in

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

headlined by a

bout Bout can mean: People *Viktor Bout, suspected arms dealer *Jan Everts Bout, early settler to New Netherland *Marcel Bout Musical instruments * The outward-facing round parts of the body shape of violins, guitars, and other stringed instrume ...

between

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

and Buster Mathis Jr. On September 14, Tyson promoter

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the ...

would stun the boxing world by announcing that the Tyson–Mathis match would be broadcast for free on

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

. Three weeks before the fight, Tyson suffered a broken thumb, but did not announce it until November 1, three days before the fight. In a press conference at the MGM Grand, Tyson announced the cancellation of the fight because of the injury. Then, on November 22, it was announced that the bout had been moved to

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

with a December 16 date in place and that

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

would air the fight instead of Fox. Plans were changed after New Jersey gaming authorities ruled against having the fight in Atlantic City because Don King had been under suspension in New Jersey since 1994 because of legal troubles. On November 30,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

's CoreStates Spectrum was announced to host the fight with Fox regaining the rights to air it. The opening match on the card involved

Terry Norris Terry Norris may refer to: * Terry Norris (boxer) Terry Wayne Norris (born June 17, 1967) is an American former boxer, prizefighter and a three time world champion in the light-middleweight (super-welterweight) division. Originally from Lubbock ...

and

Paul Vaden Paul Vaden (born December 29, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2000, holding the IBF light middleweight title in 1995. He remains the only native San Diegan to become a professional world boxing champion. ...

. Also featured was

Frankie Randall Frankie Billy Randall (September 25, 1961 – December 23, 2020) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1983 to 2005. He was a three-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA and WBC titles between 1994 and 199 ...

defending his

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded ...

junior welterweight title against Juan Coggi.

Kevin Harlan Kevin Robert Harlan (born June 21, 1960) is an American television and radio sports announcer, and a 3 time National Sportscaster of Year as voted by his peers. The son of former Green Bay Packers President and CEO Bob Harlan, he broadcasts NF ...

provided blow-by-blow commentary, with Sean O'Grady and

Bobby Czyz Robert Edward Czyz ( ; born February 10, 1962) is an American retired boxer and commentator. Czyz was a two-division world titleholder at light heavyweight and cruiserweight. Czyz was born in Orange, New Jersey. He grew up in Wanaque, New Jer ...

on analysis, and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

as the host. Meanwhile, Fox's then lead

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

color commentator,

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American professional football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, leading them ...

conducted a taped interview with Tyson. Madden's ''NFL on Fox'' broadcast partner,

Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American professional American football, football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS Sports, CBS, Fox Sports (USA), Fox, and ESPN Sunday Night Football, ESP ...

was initially scheduled to call the card, but when it was pushed back from November 4 to December 16, his NFL duties interfered with him participating. Fox received a 16.9 Nielsen overnight rating and 29 share for the December 16 broadcast, making it the highest-rated night in Fox's then brief history as a network.

''Oscar De La Hoya's Fight Night'' (1998)

In March 1998, Fox teamed with

Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born February 4, 1973) is an American Promoter (entertainment), boxing promoter and former professional boxing, professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 list of boxing sextuple ch ...

for a three-fight card from

Mashantucket, Connecticut Mashantucket is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northeastern part of the town of Ledyard, New London County, Connecticut, United States. It consists of land held by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. The Foxwoods Resort Casino Foxwoods Re ...

. Since De La Hoya himself, was under contract to fight exclusively on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

, he couldn't fight. Instead, the card featured

Yory Boy Campas Luis Ramón "Yori Boy" Campas Medina (born August 6, 1971) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1987 to 2019. He held the International Boxing Federation, IBF light middleweight title from 1997 to 1998. Background He is a n ...

fighting Anthony Stephens in a junior middleweight title bout,

Eric "Butterbean" Esch Eric David Scott Esch (born August 3, 1966), is an American television personality and retired professional boxer, kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler better known by his nickname "Butterbean". A competitor in the heavyweig ...

in a super heavyweight fight against Bill Eaton, and a six-round women's match between

Lucia Rijker Lucia Frederica Rijker (; born December 6, 1967) is a Dutch professional boxer, kickboxer, and actress. Rijker was sometimes dubbed by the press "The Most Dangerous Woman in the World". Early career Rijker was born in Amsterdam to a Suriname ...

and Mary Ann Almager. The card aired directly against the

70th Academy Awards The 70th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 23, 1998, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the sho ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

called the action with

Gil Clancy Gilbert Thomas Clancy (May 30, 1922 – March 31, 2011) was a Hall of Fame boxing trainer and one of the most noted television boxing commentators of the 1980s and 1990s. Clancy became famous as a trainer for world champion Emile Griffith, an ...

on analysis and Sean O'Grady reporting. The telecast garnered Fox a 4.3

rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of a metric (e.g. quality, quantity, a combination of both,...). Rating or rating system may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness ...

(5.9 million viewers).

''Golden Boy Live!'' (2012-2015)

The March 20, 1998 event wouldn't be the last time that Fox would collaborate with Oscar De La Hoya. In April 2012, Fox reached a multi-year agreement with De La Hoya's

Golden Boy Promotions Golden Boy Promotions, Inc. is an American boxing promotional firm based in Los Angeles, California. The company was established in 2002 by eight-time world champion (in six divisions) Oscar De La Hoya, borrowing his nickname "Golden Boy." Hist ...

. Under terms of the agreement Golden Boy Promotions would stage one event per month in the United States to be simulcast on

Fox Deportes Fox Deportes (formerly Fox Sports en Español) is an American pay television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming in Spanish, aimed at the Hispanic population in the United States. Launched in 1993, Fox Deportes, a divis ...

, Fox Sports' regional networks and

Fuel TV Fox Sports 2 (branded on-air as FS2) is an American sports-oriented pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. The channel is based at the Fox Sports division's headquarters on the Fox Studio Lot in ...

. One year later, Fox announced that they had reached a multi-media rights extension with Golden Boy Promotions. Under this particular agreement, Fox Sports retained exclusive domestic rights to 48 live two-hour events (featuring two or three fights per event).

scheduled 24 live events per year, with

airing all 48 events live. This was an increase from 36 in the previous deal. The 24 events on FS1 would all originate in the United States, and most were expected to run on Monday nights once the network launched later that August.

Commentators

*Dave Bontempo (blow-by-blow) * Brian Custer (blow-by-blow) *Beto Duran (blow-by-blow) *

Bernard Hopkins Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...

(color commentary) *

Mario Lopez Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on ''Saved by the Bell'', ''S ...

(reporter) *

Paulie Malignaggi Paul Malignaggi (; ; born November 23, 1980) is an Italian-American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017 and has since worked as a boxing commentator and analyst, currently with BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle Fighting Series and P ...

(color commentary) *Alan Massengale (blow-by-blow) * Rich Marotta (color commentary) *Jessica Rosales (reporter) *

Jim Ross James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator, sports announcer, and podcaster, better known by the ring name Jim Ross (often shortened to JR). He is signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he ...

(blow-by-blow)

''Premier Boxing Champions'' (2015-2022)

On August 4, 2015,

announced that it would air 21 '' PBC'' cards on Tuesday nights (''Toe-to-Toe Tuesdays'') on the network from September 8, 2015 through June 2016. The telecasts were also simulcast in Spanish by

. The announcement came following the end of a contract between Fox Sports and

. By 2018, most of PBC's broadcasting agreements lapsed. In September 2018, PBC reached a four-year deal with Fox Sports, covering a series of 10 "marquee" cards per-year on the Fox broadcast network, 12 per-year on FS1, as well as Fox-produced

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

events. Unlike the previous time-buy arrangements, Fox is paying rights fees; ''

The Ring The Ring may refer to: Arts and entertainment *The Ring (franchise), ''The Ring'' (franchise), a Japanese horror media franchise Literature * ''The Ring'', a 1967 novel by Richard Chopping * ''The Ring'', a 1988 book by Daniel Keys Moran * ''The R ...

'' reported that Fox was paying $60 million per-year. Prior to the announcement, PBC reached a long-term deal with Showtime, through 2021. Both Fox and Showtime also began producing pay-per-view events (contrary to PBC's previous aversion to them).

Commentators

Kate Abdo Kate Scott (, formerly Abdo; born 8 September 1981) is a British sports broadcaster who works primarily for CBS Sports. She is noted for her coverage of association football, and has anchored CBS's coverage of the UEFA Champions League since A ...

(host) *

Shawn Porter Shawn Christian Porter (born October 27, 1987) is an American sports commentator and former professional boxer who competed from 2008 to 2021. He was a two-time welterweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 2013 to 2014 and the WB ...

(analyst) *

Kenny Albert Kenneth Gary Albert (born February 2, 1968) is an American sportscaster, the son of NBA sportscaster Marv Albert and nephew of sportscasters Al Albert and Steve Albert. He is the only sportscaster who currently does play-by-play for all four ...

(blow-by-blow) * Heidi Androl (reporter) *Ray Flores (blow-by-blow) *Joe Goossen (color commentary) *Jordan Hardy (reporter) *Larry Hazzard (rules expert/unofficial scorer) * Brian Kenny (blow-by-blow) *

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a British-Canadian boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division from 1989 to 2003. He was a three-time world champion, a two-time lineal champion, ...

(color commentary) * Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini (color commentary) *

Chris Myers Chris Myers (born ) is an American sportscaster for FOX Sports. He has covered the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals, the NCAA Final Four, The Masters, the U.S. Open, the Triple Crown, the Olympics and the Daytona 500. Early l ...

(blow-by-blow) *

Austin Trout Austin Dwayne Trout (born September 18, 1985) is an American professional boxer and bare-knuckle boxer. In boxing he held the World Boxing Association (WBA) light middleweight title ( Regular version) from 2011 to 2013. He extended his champions ...

(color commentary) *Marcos Villegas (unofficial scorer) Meanwhile,

tapped

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

member and former four-division world champion Erik “El Terrible” Morales to work alongside Jaime Motta (blow-by-blow) and

Jessi Losada Jessi Losada is an American sportscaster of Cuban descent. For 36 years, Losada worked on Spanish television networks in the United States, broadcasting various different sports events and sports shows. Losada joined Univision in 1978, becoming s ...

References

External links

* {{FOXNetwork Shows (current and upcoming) Fox Sports original programming Fox Sports 1 original programming Fox Sports Networks original programming

1995 American television series debuts 1995 American television series endings 1998 American television series debuts 1998 American television series endings 2012 American television series debuts 2022 American television series endings 1990s American sports television series 2020s American sports television series * 2010s American sports television series

History

''Saturday Night Fights'' (1995)

''Oscar De La Hoya's Fight Night'' (1998)

''Golden Boy Live!'' (2012-2015)

Commentators

''Premier Boxing Champions'' (2015-2022)

Commentators

See also

References

External links