HBO World Championship Boxing
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| HBO World Championship Boxing | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sports/Boxing |
| Presented by | Jim Lampley Larry Merchant |
| Starring | Various |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English (occasional interpreters) |
| No. of seasons | 33 |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | Various |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | HBO |
| Picture format | HDTV 1080i |
| Audio format | Surround sound |
| Original run | January 1973 – Present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Boxing After Dark |
HBO World Championship Boxing is a sports television series, premiering in January 1973 that has shown a number of significant boxing events in the last three decades.
WCB's first event was fought in Kingston, Jamaica, where George Foreman defeated Joe Frazier in two rounds to win the world heavyweight championship.
Contents |
[edit] Memorable events
Some other boxing events covered in the series include:
- The Rumble in the Jungle, in which Muhammad Ali beat Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire
- Thrilla In Manila, when Ali beat Frazier in their third and last fight
- Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney, for the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship
- The Battle of The Champions, when Aaron Pryor beat Alexis Arguello in their first fight
- Carnival of Champions, in which Wilfredo Gómez beat Lupe Pintor, and Thomas Hearns beat Wilfredo Benitez
- Marvin Hagler- Thomas Hearns fight, billed as The War
- Thunder Meets Lightning, in which Julio César Chávez beat Meldrick Taylor with five seconds remaining in the twelfth round;
- The biggest upset in heavyweight boxing history, when James Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson for the undisputed world heavyweight title in Tokyo, Japan
- The World Awaits- Floyd Mayweather, Jr. beat Oscar De La Hoya for the WBC light-middleweight title.
- "Undefeated" - Floyd Mayweather, Jr. beat Ricky Hatton to retain the WBC welterweight title with a knockout in the 10th Round in a fight of the year candidate.
World Championship Boxing has also had two spin-off series, Boxing After Dark and KO Nation.
Additionally, a video game carrying the brand name HBO Boxing was produced for the Sony PlayStation.
[edit] Commentators past and present
- Emanuel Steward (current)
- Barry Tompkins
- Fran Charles
- George Foreman
- Gil Clancy
- Harold Lederman (current)
- Howard Cosell
- Jim Lampley (current)
- Larry Merchant (current)
- Lennox Lewis (current; substitute for Steward)
- Max Kellerman (current; substitue for Merchant)
- Roy Jones, Jr.
- Sugar Ray Leonard
For pay-per-view fights, Bob Costas and James Brown have been called in on occasion to oversee the telecast while Lampley calls the fight.
[edit] See also
- Boxing After Dark (a television boxing program airing on HBO from 1996-present)
- KO Nation (a short-lived television boxing program that aired on HBO from 2000-01)
- Showtime Championship Boxing (a television boxing program airing on Showtime from 1986-present)
- ShoBox: The New Generation (a television boxing program airing on Showtime from 2001-present)
[edit] External links
- HBO Boxing (HBO's Boxing website, updated weekly)
- HBO Boxing Schedule
