One of boxing’s great romances has now come to an end for the near future at least.
HBO, the titan US TV network decided to pull the plug on their boxing coverage earlier this year.
A multitude of reasons for the move perhaps can be speculated upon.
The fact boxing is now booming once again in the US has brought about added competition from robust, well capitalized new competitors such as DAZN, ESPN, Fox and Showtime.
All of whom are making online streaming a large part of their offerings as opposed to the traditional HBO linear TV model for professional boxing content.
The fact HBO have far bigger elements to their business anyway showing large series’ such as ‘Game of Thrones’ to international audiences where revenue and focus would be more fruitful for the company.
And perhaps more than anything, the fact they just ran out of boxing stars on the network in the end.
No promoter or network no matter how good they are, or how much money they have, can do anything without big name fighters.
But its been a wonderful ride for over 45 years and what HBO did for the sport of boxing can never be forgotten about or discounted.
This weekend the final chapter has been written and this video from the network sums up just how special a ride its been:
