The Complete Boxing Viewer’s Guide

Navigating the splintered boxing media scene can be bewildering for someone new to the sport.  There are now several streaming subscription options, several cable channels, some traditional network channels, and even some free streaming options.  When deciding which platforms to subscribe to or pay attention to, there are several things to consider.  How much are you willing to spend?  Would you rather watch the best boxers in the world even if they are matched against lesser fighters?  Or would you prefer to watch evenly matched fights between fighters who may be at a slightly lower level?  We’ll first take a look at each option individually, summarizing which promoters fight on each platform and how much they cost.  And then we’ll recommend channel packages depending on your level of interest.

But before we get to that, we want to put this in context.  Boxing has deservedly been maligned for the past two decades for continually mugging its fans for ever increasing pay per view fee income.  But things have changed drastically in the last three years with streaming platforms achieving greater adoption rates.  Just 20 short years ago we used to spend more than $100 a month to have VHS tapes (and then DVDs) shipped to us from Europe, Australia and Asia just to be able to keep up with the sport.  Undercard fights, even on cards promoted by the biggest outfits in the world, were seldom available to view.  And on top of that, every boxing card was shown on a subscription channel or PPV.  It was very expensive to be a fan of boxing.  That is no longer the case and we will continue to emphasize it.

One of the measures we’ll look at is All In Cost, which is the full cost of every broadcast on each platform for the year 2020.  For reference, the All In Cost for ESPN UFC broadcasts in 2020 (ESPN, ESPN+, and ESPN PPV) was $780.17 over 41 cards for an average price of $19.03 a card.  We didn’t spend the full number, but we were close.  We’re fans of MMA.  But the combined 2020 All in Cost of the four major boxing platforms in America (ESPN, DAZN, Fox, and Showtime) was just $634.90 over 113 cards for an average price of $5.62 a card.  That includes PPVs.  For the first time in a very long time, boxing is a good deal.  The following platforms will always be included on our schedule, along with various other broadcasts from time to time.  Here’s what’s available:

ESPN Suite (ESPN, ESPN+, ESPN PPV)

We consider regular ESPN to be a $0 cost platform.  We realize that there is a built-in cost for carriage fees in your streaming or cable bill, but ESPN is included in nearly every basic viewing package.  Top Rank broadcast 19 shows on ESPN and 8 shows on the streaming ESPN+ platform.  They also supplemented the ESPN+ content with Top Rank undercards for all of the ESPN shows, 12 MTK Global shows from the UK and Kazakhstan, 3 Queensberry shows, 2 shows from Dubai, and 1 each from Germany and Australia.  The only PPV offering in 2020 was the split network broadcast for Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder.  ESPN and Top Rank are now in the third year of a contract that expires in late 2025 to provide 54 shows a year.  Top Rank has maintained its position as the promoter with the best stable in the U.S., but the gap has narrowed a bit.  The All in Cost here for the whole package depends on whether you choose the monthly or annual subscription for ESPN+.  But all told, this is a very good deal for well-produced boxing cards featuring top fighters.

DAZN

Unlike ESPN, DAZN is in very few American households, partly because they are relatively new and partly because there aren’t a lot of darts fans in the U.S.  But they have the lowest All In Cost of any of the premium platforms in operation if you buy an annual subscription for $99.  It’s worth it to pursue this option.  Use a tax refund or put it on your Christmas list if you have to.  You’ll get shows from Matchroom (32) and Golden Boy (12), the third and fourth-best stables in the U.S. and the best stable in the UK.  You’ll also get a few shows from Italy, Spain, and Thailand thrown in.  The contract with Matchroom runs through 2026, while the Golden Boy deal runs through 2023.  DAZN navigated some difficult waters in 2020, but they are off and running with an aggressive schedule in 2021 following a big global expansion.  There’s not a whole lot but boxing on the platform at the moment, but they have added some soccer programming.  For a boxing fan, this is premium content at a low cost.

Fox Suite (Fox, FS1, Fox PPV)

PBC has a deal through 2022 to show 10 cards a year on Fox and 12 cards on FS1.  They also broadcast undercard fights on FS1 for most Fox shows.  The Fox shows are truly free and in more households and bars than any other boxing broadcasts.  PBC has a large stable stocked with some of the best American fighters and connections to smaller promotions that serve as talent scouts and development operations.  Fox has become more dependent on PPVs than they were at the beginning of PBC’s first foray into network television but even with them included this is an affordable premium offering.  And if you skip the PPVs you are getting the best free content available in boxing.

Showtime Suite

Showtime has a contract with PBC that expires late this year.  We aren’t sure what the details are but in 2020 PBC delivered 8 cards and 2 PPVs, while the ShoBox franchise which features prospect level matchups from a variety of promoters accounted for the remaining 7 shows.  It will be interesting to see what happens at the end of this contract as Showtime no longer holds a dominant position in American boxing broadcasting as it had for three decades.  They did have some strong cards in 2020 and are still stocked by one of the strongest stables in the U.S., but it comes at a relatively high cost.  With all the options available now, Showtime probably stands to be the odd platform out for many fans.

Telemundo

Telemundo follows a niche strategy and they have perfected it.  Unlike any other boxing programming in the U.S., when you turn on a Spanish language Friday night Telemundo telecast the main event fighters are already standing in the ring.  There are usually about four minutes of introduction in the studio and then they get right to the action.  The fighters who appear are not top-tier fighters.  However, they are usually aggressive and matched well to provide good action fights.  This throwback approach put three Telemundo fights on our 2020 Undercard Gems list.  There is an emphasis on Puerto Rican and Mexican fighters here and many times they are matched to take advantage of that natural rivalry.  If you live near a metro area there is a good chance that Telemundo is a part of your basic local television package, and it’s worth checking out.  If it isn’t, you may have to upgrade to a special package which could cost you some money.

NBC Sports Network

Ring City kicked off a welcome addition to the boxing landscape in late 2020 with a series on NBC Sports Network.  The series is billed as a ShoBox style program that matches prospect level fighters against each other in competitive fights, but with a slightly higher budget.  Ring City will use many different promoters and isn’t signed to any specific output agreements and so far the results have been quite good.  The plans are for 14 shows in 2021 at various locales.  NBC Sports Network has already announced that the channel is going off the air at the end of 2021, but the Ring City series is expected to land somewhere, likely the Peacock app going forward.  This channel is a part of our normal package so we’ve been pleased to add an intriguing Thursday night boxing series to our viewing habit.

TyC Sports

We run FuboTV in the Boxeoguide world headquarters, so we get this series from Argentina.  TyC Sports puts on more shows than any other boxing platform, often having cards on both Friday and Saturday night on the same weekend.  They rotate among three promoters and have run some domestic tournaments at times.  Argentina has more professional men boxers than all but 6 countries and more professional women fighters than every country except Mexico and the U.S.  There is a strong heritage here and you can bet that the next great Argentinean fighter will be shown here first.  But before you decide to sign up for FuboTV, understand that it doesn’t carry the Turner networks including TBS and TNT.

TUDN

TUDN is a Spanish language channel you may have access to in your package, it’s included in our FuboTV plan.  They started a series in late 2020 featuring fighters from Pueblo, the second biggest promoter in Mexico behind Zanfer.  We’re not sure how many shows they plan to run in 2021 as the pandemic has slowed things.  But there is a lot of talent in Mexico and they produce great action.  If nothing else, check your channel guide and see if you have access to this channel.  If they are broadcasting a show, we’ll have it listed on our schedule.

UFC Fight Pass

UFC Fight Pass had a disastrous 2020.  In 2019 they broadcast several shows from RJJ, DiBella, and Murphy’s.  But the pandemic stopped all of that and boxing on UFC Fight Pass was limited to a few RJJ shows from Mexico, a CES show early in the year, a poorly received Salita show from the Kronk, and a nice later year pickup of a Kevin Lerena fight by DiBella. It’s difficult to justify this subscription at this point if you’re only interested in boxing.  Hopefully, as the pandemic subsides we’ll get more regular action here.

Free Youtube and Facebook Streams

We prefer to think of the five promotions above as a free boxing channel that puts on shows in four countries.  Sure, there are other promotions that stream shows occasionally.  And we’ll continue to list them in our schedule at times.  But the talent level is a little higher for this select group of promoters.  Each has produced fighters who have either competed at world level in the last year or have been featured on premium platforms in the U.S.  RCC is the premier promotion in Russia and puts on clear, well-produced shows regularly on its Youtube channel.  M&R operates out of Florida and has a stable full of Filipino fighters co-promoted with Sanman and Nicaraguan fighters.  Both Reymart Gaballo and Mike Plania scored big wins in 2020, though Gaballo’s was controversial.  Thompson got Ruben Villa a title shot on ESPN in 2020 and has a track record of developing fighters all the way to championships.  Shuan is the biggest promotion in the Dominican Republic.  Many of the best Dominican fighters who have made their way to prominent American promoters came up through Shuan.  We’ve seen some great action on these shows.  PR Best is a Puerto Rican promotion that has 105 pound champ Wilfredo Mendez in their stable.  All these shows have their own flavor and provide entertaining domestic battles.  And for anyone running Youtube through a smart TV or Roku, there is no difference between these platforms and fee-based streaming channels.

If you’re still unsure which of these options you should get, we recommend starting here:

Economy Package

Regular ESPN, Fox, FS1, Telemundo (if available free), NBC Sports Network (if available), Free streamers

You’ve got 54-67 shows there for $0.  If you find that you like boxing your next step should be:

Essential 

DAZN

Passing on DAZN is like being an NFL fan who only watches the NFC.  There’s too much to pass over here including the biggest draw in boxing in Canelo, several good heavyweights, and many blue-chip prospects.  If you like boxing at all, you need this channel.

You’ll want to go with the annual subscription here.  The monthly fee is $19.99 and the annual fee amounts to $8.33 a month.  You can try it for one month to see if you like it, but trying to cherry-pick a few months here and there isn’t a great option.

The rest of the top tier

What you add in this group comes down to how you feel about the other programming available on the platform.

ESPN+ will give you additional premium Top Rank cards and all the undercards.  You can see the MTK Global shows for free at IFL TV’s Youtube channel so they aren’t a great reason to pull the trigger here.  But ESPN+ gives you UFC, a lot of other sports,  and some good documentaries all at a reasonable price.

Showtime is the most expensive option available but it gives you premier talent and a lot of prospect level shows.  You may also be interested in the series and movie options available here.

If you don’t have NBC Sports Network as part of your standard television package, you may want to consider how much it would cost to upgrade to a level that includes it.  You’ll be adding 14 quality Thursday night shows.

There are a lot of different strategies for PPVs.  You can round up a bunch of people to chip in, but that’s not an option for many fans.  When the movie theaters fully reopen you can usually get tickets to PPV level shows for $15-25.  We’ve watched many shows this way and had a good time.  Or you can just skip them.

Diehard Fan Options

If you still aren’t getting enough boxing, consider making Fubo TV your primary streaming solution and get the package that includes TyC Sports and TUDN.  At this point you’ll have so much boxing available to you that you’ll never be able to watch it all live.  But this is what we do.

Hard To Justify

UFC Fight Pass should not be considered a boxing platform at this point.  If you are a fan of UFC and like the additional content this channel offers, you should at least be aware that there are boxing shows here from time to time.  But there’s not nearly enough good boxing here to justify the subscription cost based on it alone.  But we subscribe and watch and if and when they improve this offering we’ll keep you posted.