Boxing After Dark
is an
HBO
boxing
program, premiered on February 3, 1996, that usually showed fights between well-known contenders, but usually not "championship" or "title" fights. Unlike its sister program,
HBO World Championship Boxing
,
BAD
featured fighters who were usually moving up from
ESPN
's
Friday Night Fights
or another basic cable boxing program. This was where fighters were given their start to become famous depending on how well they fare on
BAD
they might have a title fight on
World Championship Boxing
or could fall back (Ex:
Jason Litzau
had many entertaining fights on ESPN before moving up to
BAD
to face
Jose Hernandez
. After Litzau lost by knockout he returned to
FNF
)
Boxing After Dark
|
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/88/Boxing_After_Dark_logo.jpg/220px-Boxing_After_Dark_logo.jpg) |
Genre
| Sports
|
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Starring
| various
|
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Country of origin
| United States
|
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|
Network
| HBO
|
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Release
| February 3, 1996
?(
1996-02-03
)
??
December 8, 2018
?(
2018-12-08
)
|
---|
|
HBO World Championship Boxing
|
It usually aired at least once a month, following a
World Championship Boxing
card on HBO.
Boxing After Dark
debuted on
HBO Canada
beginning January 17, 2009 at 9:45?pm. ET/7:45?pm. MT
Boxing After Dark
, or
BAD
for short, got its start on February 3, 1996 with commentators
Jim Lampley
and
Larry Merchant
. The first fight shown was an exciting 12-rounder featuring a then-unknown
Marco Antonio Barrera
and
Kennedy McKinney
. Barrera won by KO. Since then,
BAD
has prided itself on promoting fights between lesser-caliber fighters with something to prove, though occasionally well-known fighters, usually those signed by HBO, may make appearances.
In 2006,
BAD
entered its tenth season with an all-new lineup. Lampley, Merchant and
Emanuel Steward
would now call only
WCB
and
pay-per-view
fights. Replacing them were
Fran Charles
, former
ESPN
and
Fox Sports Net
analyst
Max Kellerman
who received "something in the neighborhood of $10,000 for each
Boxing After Dark
telecast" (according to
Thomas Hauser
) and former world heavyweight champion
Lennox Lewis
. Kellerman and Lewis had previously appeared on world championship and pay-per-view events for HBO as analysts and continue to do so.
[1]
This season has featured mostly fights at lesser weights, a
BAD
staple, as well as new theme music and logo. On March 13, 2007, Fran Charles was replaced by
Bob Papa
due to scheduling conflicts with the
NFL Network
. Lampley has also on occasion stepped in for Charles and Papa.
[2]
Beginning in 2013, the teams for
BAD
and
World Championship Boxing
became identical. Lampley, Kellerman, and
Roy Jones Jr.
called all boxing events for HBO with rare exceptions.
Andre Ward
and
Bernard Hopkins
served as substitutes for Jones.
The end of
Boxing After Dark
edit
On September 27, 2018, HBO announced they would be dropping boxing from the network following its last televised match on October 27, although there was an additional airing on December 8, 2018. Several reasons were given for the cancellation, including rapidly declining ratings, an increasing number of options for boxing on other channels, surveys that showed boxing was no longer one of the reasons people purchased HBO subscriptions, a lack of marquee boxing contests, and HBO corporate position that the service is "not a sports network."
[3]