AL BERNSTEIN has named the fights the Saudis have to make to revive interest in boxing in the States.
The Hall of Fame broadcaster says boxing has become a “niche” sport in the States – despite the best efforts of Turki Alalshikh to deliver the biggest fights.
Bernstein commentated on what he calls “the best decade boxing ever had – certainly in America.”
That was the ‘Four Kings’ era when Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran fought each other nine times in the space of 10 years.
Bernstein started working for broadcasters ESPN in 1980 and his commentary on fights such as Hagler-Hearns were heard by millions in the States.
The 74-year-old says that if boxing is to ever be anywhere near as popular in the States again, Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney and Vasily Lomachenko need to be matched against each other by the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority.
He did say he wants to make Davis-Stevenson in the future as part of his plan to “get boxing great again” and ‘Tank’ appears to have put a time limit on the fight being made having vowed to retire at the end of next year.
That is one of the fights Bernstein says would have huge interest in the States, provided it was exposed to a wide audience.
“The product is good,” said Bernstein of the Saudis’ involvement in boxing. “We just need to make sure it’s available to enough people and in the States and that’s an issue.
“The mainstream media isn’t covering it that much, apart from ESPN.
“Boxing has made a renaissance in recent years, but there’s only one outlet that’s showing it now and that’s ESPN.
“Showtime and HBO went away and Fox aren’t showing boxing any more. Part of the problem is there are so many sports competing for attention.
“Boxing has been pushed back and become a niche sport. But in America, every sport is a niche sport, apart from the NFL. It’s just a case of how big your niche is.
“People need to be able to hear the stories told and be able to see the fights.
“Boxing isn’t in the position it was in when ‘The Four Kings’ fought on network TV, so people got to know them and that fed the pay-per-view fights.
“The Saudis are making fights that people want to see like Beterbiev-Bivol and I think the fights people want to see are at 135-140lbs. I think everyone wants to see Davis-Stevenson and then there’s Lomachenko and Haney as well.
“I think we would all like to see them fight each other and we would love to see (David) Benavidez against [Saul] ‘Canelo’ [Alvarez]. It feels like Canelo is waiting for Benavidez to lose and then the fight will go away.
“I would rate Benavidez the favourite against [David] Morrell [on February 1], but it’s a challenge for him. It’s definitely not a given.
“I don’t know if Canelo-Benavidez ever will happen. If it doesn’t happen in the first half of next year, it won’t happen.”
The latest Riyadh Season card announced features the 175lbs rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol on February 22. Beterbiev edged their first fight on a majority vote in Saudi Arabia in October.
“That is a fight that may not have happened [if it wasn’t for the Saudis involvement],” said Bernstein. They have created certain fights that may not have happened without them.
“The overall effect in the grand scheme remains to be seen, but at this moment, big fights are being made that might not have been made and that is a good thing for the sport.
“Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, promoters were forced to deal with each other, but in recent times, it’s been harder to make fights because promoters and fighters are on different platforms. Boxing was fractured and the Saudis are putting the money up and the promoters are forgetting the differences between them and that has to be good for boxing.”
Bernstein spoke to Boxing News while he was in Cannock for a black-tie Excelsior Sporting Club show promoted by Scott Murray and remembered fight nights in Manchester giving him some of his best nights in more than four decades working in the sport.
“Ricky Hatton fight nights in England were absolutely the most entertaining from a crowd standpoint,” he said. “There was great energy from the crowd and he fed off that in his performances, none more so than against Kostya [Tszyu].”
Bernstein had a spell co-commentating for Channel Five and said: “The fans in England are astonishingly authentic and supportive. They love boxing and the atmosphere at fights in England is a bit different than the States.
“The crowds in US are mostly excited by what they see in the ring – if it is exciting! They seem like they are waiting to be entertained. In England, fans come with enthusiasm already in place. The fans in England are a bit more engaged from the outset.”
Unsurprisingly, Bernstein rates Hagler-Hearns as one of the highlights of his commentating career – “It was so exciting” – and he has a fondness for journeymen Bruce ‘The Mouse’ Strauss and heavyweight Tim Tomashek, who was famously plucked from the crowd to challenge Tommy Morrison for the WBO heavyweight championship in Kansas City in 1993.
“Tim went five rounds,” remembered Bernstein, “and the interview after was hysterical. He was a character, very funny. He kept saying: ‘He’s a great man, Tommy Morrison.’
“He told me about a loss he had overseas. He said: ‘They tricked me. They gave me free drinks on the plane. That kind of stuff.”
