Boxing on Fox

History

Fox's first boxing broadcast took place on December 16, 1995, in prime time, headlined by Mike Tyson against Buster Mathis Jr. The event had a complicated path to air. On September 14, promoter Don King announced the fight would air free on Fox. Three weeks before the scheduled date, Tyson broke his thumb but did not disclose the injury until November 1, three days before the fight, when he canceled the bout at a press conference at the MGM Grand. On November 22, the fight was moved to Atlantic City with a December 16 date, and Showtime was set to air it instead of Fox. New Jersey gaming authorities then ruled against holding the fight in Atlantic City because Don King had been under suspension in New Jersey since 1994. On November 30, Philadelphia's CoreStates Spectrum was announced as the venue, and Fox regained the rights. The undercard included Terry Norris versus Paul Vaden, and Frankie Randall defending his World Boxing Association junior welterweight title against Juan Coggi. Kevin Harlan called the blow-by-blow, with Sean O'Grady and Bobby Czyz on analysis and James Brown as host. John Madden, Fox's lead NFL color commentator, conducted a taped interview with Tyson. Pat Summerall had been scheduled to call the card but could not due to NFL duties after the date moved. The broadcast earned a 16.9 Nielsen overnight rating and a 29 share, the highest-rated night in Fox's history as a network at that time.

In March 1998, Fox partnered with Oscar De La Hoya for a three-fight card from Mashantucket, Connecticut, in prime time. Because De La Hoya was under contract to fight exclusively on HBO, he did not appear. The card featured Yory Boy Campas against Anthony Stephens in a junior middleweight title bout, Eric "Butterbean" Esch versus Bill Eaton in a super heavyweight fight, and a six-round women's match between Lucia Rijker and Mary Ann Almager. The telecast aired directly against the 70th Academy Awards on ABC. James Brown called the action with Gil Clancy on analysis and Sean O'Grady reporting. The broadcast earned a 4.3 rating (5.9 million viewers).