CBS will step into the squared ring this afternoon (April 4) with the first of several network distributed boxing cards which will help build awareness for the sport, according to CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus.
The fight card, develop by CBS in association with Premier Boxing Champions, will pit light heavweight champion Adonis Stevenson against Sakio Bika in the main event. The event will be the first of as many as eight boxing shows to air on CBS and CBS Sports Network, according to network officials.
McManus told Multichannel News that the creation of Premier Boxing Champions on CBS – along with similar PBC deals with NBC, Spike TV and Bounce TV – will help build awareness for the sport through exposure of the fighters on broadcast and cable television.
“When we were growing up watching sports on television whether it was CBS, NBC or ABC, there were fights on every weekend, and that help build interest in the fighters and interest in the sport,” McManus said. “That hasn’t happened in over 20 years – the fact that it’s happening more now is good for the sport.”
While McManus would not reveal specifics of deal terms for the package, he said “the way the business deal is constructed is a good” for the network.
