After rival network Showtime managed to nab Manny Pacquiao for his May 7 title defense against Shane Mosley, HBO has ensured it will televise Floyd Mayweather's return to the ring on PPV when he takes on WBC welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz on September 17 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Speaking to ESPN.com, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer says it had listened to offers from both Showtime and HBO before deciding on the network that has handled all of Mayweather's major fights.
"We have finalized our deal with HBO. We obviously had very intense negotiations," Schaefer told ESPN.com. "What we wanted to do is ensure that all the different Time Warner (HBO's parent company) assets will be in play one way or the other, including the Turner Broadcasting assets and the Time Inc. assets, which is their magazines."
Showtime had done a great job of offering Top Rank national TV exposure by not only showing commercials of the Pacquiao-Mosley fight, but also airing episodes of Fight Camp 360.
HBO will look to do a similar thing by offering Golden Boy airings of HBO's 24/7 series on one of the Turnet networks such as TBS, TNT or truTV.
"We wanted to make sure all other assets that HBO has available will be fully utilized to support this fight and give it the widest possible exposure," Schaefer told ESPN.com. "I am very happy that HBO Sports and HBO senior management were very open and that we had productive conversations, which fell on open ears. HBO seems very motivated and excited to show the world what they can do utilizing their vast array of assets."
A national press tour is set to begin next week in New York City, before heading to Los Angeles.
Ticket sales will be announced shortly while it is rumored that Golden Boy will also offer the HBO PPV fight via movie theaters across the country, including the SF Bay Area.
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