The second edition of ESPN’s Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN series—featuring Danny Garcia vs. Paulie Malignaggi and Daniel Jacobs vs. Sergio Mora this past Saturday, August 1, delivered the largest boxing audience on ESPN in almost 20 years, stretching back since 1998.
That fight was the decidedly unhistorical match between Bronco McKart and Ronald Weaver on May 22, 1998. That tells you something about where boxing was then versus where it is today. Nevertheless, the sweet science is on the uptick and showing some signs of life as it gets airtime and exposure across more channels, better channels and superior time slots.
Of course, to be clear, they’re also specifically referencing ESPN, and their hasn’t been much, to any, boxing on the main flagship network over the past two decades.
An average audience of 1,073,000 viewers watched the event – up 34 percent and 55 percent among P25-54 from the July 11 PBC on ESPN event. The telecast also peaked during the main event with nearly 1.5 million viewers according to Nielsen.
Next up on PBC on ESPN is the highly anticipated Leo Santa Cruz vs. Abner Mares fight. Santa Cruz vs. Mares could easily eclipse the ratings just delivered by Garcia vs. Malignaggi. The fight takes place on August 29th from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, with coverage beginning at 10 pm eastern.
