Friday Night Fights Preview

The Queensbury Rules explains why you should be excited about ESPN highlighting unbeaten Russian junior welterweight prospect Ruslan Provodnikov on this week’s Friday Night Fights debut:

“This fight is a very good fight for the boxing business and for the boxing fans,” said Artie Pelullo, head of Banner Promotions, which guides the career of Provodnikov. “This is the kind of fight that Doug Loughrey at ESPN wanted. It’s a fan-friendly fight.”

Provodnikov-Herrera is an anomaly when it comes to modern cable television fights, in that it pits two promoters’ prospects against one another. In this case, it may have happened out of necessity, as Pelullo’s Banner Promotions and Thompson Boxing (which promotes Herrera) are not promotional juggernauts, and perhaps need to take these risks to obtain valuable television slots.

We’re always excited when quality fights show up on basic cable. While most serious fight fans subscribe to HBO and Showtime, capturing viewers on ESPN and other more widely available networks is essential to growing the sport’s fan base and increasing exposure for future stars.

If you’re one of those that prefers to actually leave the couch on Friday nights and are still suffering without DVR check back on Saturday for our full coverage.