What is it going to take to get Nonito Donaire on HBO? There is evidence that his No. 8 rating on the pound-for-pound list doesn’t necessarily rate HBO’s A-list.
The problem? Viewer numbers aren’t there for “anything south of featherweights,” HBO executive Ross Greenburg lamented in our March interview. Since then more of that evidence has come in.
Exhibit One: Greenburg took a chance on Juan Manuel Lopez-Gerry Penalosa in April because that 122-pound bout fulfilled his exception to the “south of featherweights” dictum: “You have to have two awesome fighters in their weight class.” But Penalosa, 38, fighting gamely above his weight class, was not a sufficiently attractive opponent for rising star Lopez, and Showtime countered with the Jermain Taylor-Carl Froch thriller.
HBO played down the lower-than-usual ratings for Lopez-Penalosa (“1.6 million viewers, slightly below our season average”), but the number looked pretty promising if you ask me, considering the impediments also included early round NBA playoffs that siphoned boxing interest sharply in 16 cities.
Exhibit Two: HBO snubbed the Ivan Calderon-Rodel Mayol light flyweight bout Saturday even though it was conveniently situated on the Miguel Cotto-Joshua Klottey undercard in New York. The broadcast was long enough for two fights. There was a half-hour buildup of the one bout, in which Cotto beat Clottey by split decision, buoyed by a first-round knockdown. (The light flyweight bout we didn’t see was ruled a technical draw after six even rounds because Calderon sustained a head butt.)
HBO may not be perfect, but it is the premier venue in boxing and should be the holy grail for Donaire, 26, who is trying to vacate the 112-pound division to take on the best bantamweights in the near future and featherweights before he turns 30.
Donaire vs. Lopez, who probably will move up to 126 soon, would fulfill the “awesome fighters” clause, but it seems doubtful that fight will take place in the next two years. With Vic Darchinyan a Showtime staple, his rematch with Donaire presumably would take place on that premium-cable rival to HBO.
Fernando Montiel, who is No. 1 on Donaire’s immediate wish list, had to pull out of his June 27 match with Eric Morel (Jorge Arce will fight Fernando Lumacad instead). If Donaire and Montiel were to meet, it’s important to note that their proposed spring 2009 bout was headed to Showtime, where each has appeared.
Like HBO I champion the welterweight division above all, and always have, but fighters south of featherweight have never been so difficult to ignore, and my money is still on Donaire to prove the best of the lot.
Comments
Should Nonito keeps on winning thereby widening his fan base, HBO would find it difficult to ignore him. I say put a rematch with Darchinyan on schedule and HBO would try to elbow Showtime out.
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