Backing Froch would be the perfect answer to the BBC's critics

The Times Ron Lewis24th September, 2009

It is just over three weeks until Carl Froch's second defence of his WBC super-middleweight title against Andre Dirrell in Nottingham, which marks the start of Showtime's "Super Six" tournament, potentially the most exciting series of fights in years in world boxing. Yet if you live in the UK you still have no idea if you will be able to see it - unless you buy a ticket and go, that is.

Froch's promoter, Mick Hennessy, is apparently in talks with "everyone", which presumably means ITV, his usual broadcaster, Sky, ESPN and the BBC.

ITV's future boxing coverage is a bit cloudy right now. Four months ago there were stories that the channel was bailing out, as part of its general cost cutting. However, there are rumours that there could be a change of plan there, particularly as the monthly shows on ITV4 have been pulling viewing figures that a rumoured to be ten times the norm for the channel.

Now the BBC has, rightly, been taking plenty of stick lately for its abandonment of boxing coverage. The last professional show shown by the corporation was in March 2005, when Clinton Woods won the IBF light-heavyweight title against Rico Hoye. Since then they have even chopped back their coverage of amateur boxing.

Boxing News recently launched a campaign and petition to get boxing back on the BBC, something I am only too happy to completely endorse (click here for details), after all I pay my for my television licence and have next to zero interest in watching Formula One or Premier League football.

That campaign possibly had some early success when they broadcast an hour of highlights from the World Amateur Championships. When I arrived in Milan for the latter stages of the tournament, there were no announced plans to show anything on the BBC. I revealed that live video links on the aiba's website were being blocked in the UK because the BBC owned the rights, stopping fans from seeing any of the British boxers in action.

The next day, the BBC announced plans for a highlights hour on BBC Two. An interview on Boxing News's website with Steve Bunce, a regular BBC pundit, said that he was asked to do the show at less than 100 hours notice, which would tie in with the timescale. So maybe public pressure does work.

But how great would it be - for fans and the BBC - if the corporation signed up for the Super Six. It would seem to be a win-win deal. They have history with Froch, having launched his professional career, while the set-up of the tournament essentially would not only guarantee them a string of very high class matches, but because with six guaranteed big names, it would not take too much to educate the audience.

Froch v Dirrell, supported by Arthur Abraham v Jermain Taylor, complete with a Sunday morning replay (Froch-Dirrell has a 2am start time) could draw big viewing figures. And a highlights show in November of Mikkel Kessler v Andre Ward is certainly of interest - after all, if the BBC can sell Formula One (with 18 out of 20 drivers from overseas) as well as tennis (everyone but Andy Murray), the idea of Froch (one of only two British world champions) taking on the world's best in a tournament (which basically has a maximum on 12 bouts) surely can appeal. And as Showtime have put up most of the cash, it presumably shouldn't be too expensive.

While Froch is Hennessy's biggest star, the promoter has had a good start to the year on Sky, where he doesn't promote. In fact, of the two Sky shows this season, Hennessy boxers have won both top of the bills, albeit one somewhat fortuitously when Tyson Fury beat John McDermott for the English heavyweight title.

However, there was nothing lucky about the performance of the estimable Lenny Daws, who regained the British light-welterweight title and reversed his only career defeat against Barry Morrison. It just goes to show the possibilities if promoters will allow their boxers to fight on rival promoters' shows (it happened earlier this year too when Matthew Mackin, who was then with Frank Warren, had his biggest career win when taking the British middleweight title from Wayne Elcock on a Hennessy show).

But while it was a cracking bout between two quality fighters, the Daws-Morrison bout showed one of the downsides of British boxing right now. Because that was the fourth time in only 18 months that the vacant British light-welterweight title had been contested on a Sky show, meaning four champions had handed the title back in such a short time period.

People complain about the lack of newspaper coverage of British title fights of boxing in general, but is a British title seemingly means so little to the boxers involved, how can anyone expect sports editors or fans in general to care either.

-->