TalkingBoxing Articles
Boxing Broadcast History Made
MON June 26, BUSTER PARIS - “Mr. Watson – come here I need you”
Those 7 words uttered from Alexander Graham Bell changed the world of communications forever - and gave birth to the telephone.
Who would have thought that 130 years later Henry “Discombobulating” Jones would be literally seen on and over Bell’s invention changing the world of communications yet again.
Saturday – June 24th 2006 – what would have just been a local Columbus Ohio event called “Fists of Fury” was amazingly seen around the world via the web, smart phones, hand held devices and videophones for the low price of $10.
Thanks to the innovations of Wireless Events Network - WENPPV (www.wenppv.com) and the insightful vision of Mike Powers, President of Powers Boxing (www.powersboxing.com) we now have another way that we can witness our sport - and this truly changes everything.
One of the best things about this technology and what it does for boxing fans is that it gives us the opportunity to see young and new fighters from a different region getting a start. I’m psyched for the possibility of seeing a bunch of bouts from all over the country that I never would have the chance to see.
I love the thought of seeing the talent pool from Seattle or Oregon, seeing small venue club fights out of Arkansas or Kentucky and am really excited to see who is on the horizon in New York - or who is the next great kid from Philadelphia.
Already - I love that I saw a bunch of Ohio fighters going at it that normally I would have never seen and already one of them blipped on my radar - Junior Middleweight fighter Eric Deere (7 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw and 1 NC). He was the most impressive on this card and the type of fighter that I think we’ll be seeing more of in 2007-2008.
I never would have even heard of Deere if it weren’t for this technology.
Also – as one who appreciates the beautiful brutality and the poetry of science in boxing - it was great to see “heart” streaming across the web that we normally wouldn’t see - specifically in the women’s Heavyweight division where Missy Fields fought the much bigger Gigi Jackson. Gigi won the bout via a 4 round split decision. Jackson looked to be almost twice the size of Fields, but Missy never was intimidated and never gave up – she is all heart and guts – and honestly that was great to see and much appreciated – and again – I never would have had the chance to see a small time club fight like that if it weren’t for this technology.
Keep in mind - there still is work to be done to even think about competing with the big boys of HBO, Showtime and ESPN, but the groundwork has been laid and the possibility has been born – and tested.
Here’s the wrap up of the evening.
I watched via the web and was surprisingly impressed with the camera work. The fights were very well shot with just one camera – I’m not sure if I’m conditioned to think that 2 would be better, but it would be interesting to see WENPPV try 2 next time out, but again - it worked well with just the one.
The round by round commentator/ ringside analyst was Sam "The Fight Man" Ibrahim and he did a good job. It was a little confusing as there was a 15-20 second delay between what was actually happening in the ring and Sam’s comments, but I spoke with “The Fight Man” this morning and they figured out what the issue was and how to fix it for next time.
I think too that Sam could use a partner. I like the flow of a conversation between an analyst and either another analyst or … say … a writer … from Boston … named Buster … (hint, hint – I’m available – we’ll talk).
Shameless begging for a job aside -- I do prefer the balance of at least 2 commentators. I think that back and forth banter provides a much better rhythm, is more natural feeling and invites the viewer in to be part of the conversation rather than just being told a blow by blow of what’s happening.
Ring Announcer Henry "Discombobulating" Jones was great. He did a fantastic job, was likable, fun, relaxed and added an air of showmanship you’d expect from a prizefight. I really liked him and hope to see him again.
As for the fights and results themselves:
Kicking off history as THE very first fight seen around the world via the web, smart phones, hand held devices and videophones was a scheduled 4 rounder between Middleweights Carl Dunaway (4 losses) and Ed Bodine (2 wins).
Bodine won via a 1st round TKO
Next up was a 4 rounder between female Heavyweights – first timer Missy Fields (1 loss) vs. Gigi Jackson (1 win and 1 loss) – Jackson won via a split decision.
Welterweights John Lipcomb (2 wins, 4 losses and 1 NC) vs. Mike Siano (3 wins and 0 losses) – Siano won via a 4th round Unanimous Decision.
Fighting for the Midwest Junior Middleweight Americas title was Marvin Greathouse (3 wins and 6 losses) vs. Eric Deere (7 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw and 1 NC) – Eric’s performance was the best of the night and he won the bout and title via a 2nd round TKO.
Another Junior Middleweight match was Clifford Mcpherson (2 wins and 1 loss) vs. Chris "Freight Train" Overbey (7 wins and 3 losses) – Overbay won on points after 4 rounds.
Cruiserweights Derrick Holsinger (2 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw and 1 NC) vs. Ryan Carroll (2 wins and 1 NC) -- the bout was ruled a "No Contest" due to head butts.
The last bout of the night was the featured match – a dreadfully boring and uneventful 6 rounder between Heavyweights Adam Smith (7 wins, 12 losses and 1 draw) and James "The Vanilla Gorilla" Smith (4 wins and 2 losses) -- James won via a Unanimous Decision – and as an aside -- "The Vanilla Gorilla" is now one of my favorite nicknames!
All in all the technology, the fights and the future of boxing looks really good. I am very excited to see more bouts via this medium and am proud that TalkingBoxing.com was one of the distributors to be involved in this historical event.
For boxing fans – keep your eyes on TalkingBoxing.com for future announcements regarding upcoming Wireless Events Network fights – so far – they are well worth the $10 and you really should check it out.
A huge and heartfelt congratulations to the whole team at WENPPV and Powers Boxing – congratulations guys – great job!
Buster Paris can be reached at: bparis@talkingboxing.com - and always enjoys receiving your thoughts, comments and questions
Forum
