HBO Leaves Boxing Business After 45 Years

HBO Boxing is closing shop after 45 years of putting on historic bouts.

It all started with Joe Frazier vs. George Foreman back in 1973. Now, it will come to an end with Daniel Jacobs vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko on October 27th of this year. The New York Times reports that, after putting on over 1,000 fights, HBO is getting out of the boxing business to focus on more original programming.

With juggernauts such as “Game Of Thrones” dominated the television market, and boxing struggling to make mainstream stars, the decision doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Peter Nelson, executive vice president of HBO Sports, had this to say:

“This is not a subjective decision,” Nelson said. “Our audience research informs us that boxing is no longer a determinant factor for subscribing to HBO. Because of our association with boxing, people forget that we’re not a sports network. We’re a storytelling platform.”

HBO Boxing’s last big event occurred earlier this month with Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin II. The Mexican star defeated “GGG” to become boxing’s premier middleweight champion.

With the move, Showtime Boxing now seemingly leads the way in producing boxing bouts – unless they follow in HBO’s footsteps in the near future.