http://www.examiner.com/fight-sports-in-pittsburgh/potential-ramifications-of-hbo-shakeup-for-boxing-mmaOn the whole the recent news that now former president of HBO sports Ross Greenburg was leaving the company was met with little surprise from most boxing fans, and a certain amount of elation from others.
The lack of surprise at the departure stems from the fact that Greenburg recently presided over a series of disastrous decisions for the formerly undisputed home of boxing, culminating in the loss of pay per view super star Manny Pacquiao to rival network Showtime.
Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum, along with several others, have been critical of what they perceive as the favoritism HBO show to Golden Boy and Al Haymon represented fighters for some time.
HBO perhaps misguidedly believing that they were the only viable option, did little to placate them, gradually allowing Showtime's boxing program to grow into a genuine rival.
There were several other controversial decisions as well.
Former WBC welterweight titlist Andre Berto for example was paid millions to defend his title against what can only be considered easy competition without ever really having any drawing power to justify the expenditure. He subsequently lost, albeit in a great fight, the first time he did step up in competition.
Middleweight ace Sergio Martinez, one of the few fighters who does pull his weight, routinely had his choice of opponent turned down, only for other fighters to inexplicably be approved fights against the very same opponents.
There was also the debacle between light welterweight champions Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander, who fought an ugly headbutt-ridden contest at a mostly empty Detroit Silverdome, attracting poor viewing figures and both having been given guarantees of over a million dollars each for their next fights, irrespective of performance.
Despite whatever mistakes Greenburg might have made however, unquestionably he had a difficult and mostly thankless task that more often than not relied on the unreliable, and for the majority of his time at HBO he did a good job.
That being said, a change in this instance seems the best option for all involved, whether Greenburg was in fact fired, left of his own accord or was pushed out.
(Greenburg said in an interview with the NY times that he left voluntarily, see Michael Marley's take on the situation here: HBO Bossman Greenburg: I wasn't canned, I quit; Kery Davis twists in the wind)
The most immediate improvement Greenburg's replacement will undoubtedly attempt to make will be to repair the damaged relationship between the network and Top Rank, who promote Manny Pacquiao.
Even with Floyd Mayweather back from retirement and talking about fighting more often, having both of the biggest draws in the sport is ultimately better than just one.
Secondly, dividing up the available television dates amongst the various promoters more fairly and putting together more competitive matches should also be high on the agenda.
As should cancelling the unofficial HBO policy of attempting to produce their own stars instead of showcasing the best naturally emergent fighters.
Perhaps the most interesting possible result of Greenburg's departure other than the changes his replacement will make to the boxing schedule is that the door might now have been reopened for MMA to be shown on the network.
Beginning in 2007 the UFC started a series of unsuccessful negotiations with HBO, which Greenburg among other factors was instrumental in putting a stop to.
Greenburg's exit could then eventually pave the way for either the UFC, or a rival promotion such as Bellator, to begin airing events on the network.
Despite potentially having to compete with MMA in some form or another in the near future, undoubtedly this is good news for boxing on the whole as well.
Although there is little reliable data on the crossover audience between the two sports, it is thought to be a lot lower than most might assume, with figures under 10% regularly reported.
That being the case boxing and MMA shows being on the same schedule or perhaps even airing after each other could potentially introduce each sport to a new market and increase viewing figures for both.
Of course with Greenburg's replacement yet to be named and vice president of sports Kerry David rumored to be next for the chopping block, any developments will undoubtedly take some time to come to fruition.
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