Jun 25, 2009 -
"Wow!" is all I have to say regarding the ratings for Wladimir Klitschko's recent heavyweight title fight against Ruslan Chagaev.
How far the big men have fallen in terms of popularity within the United States of America. There once was a time when the big boys were kings amongst the rest and drew the highest ratings in all of boxing. Apparently, just like everything else in this world, these are changing and the United States consumer demands more... more than what the current crop of heavyweight pretenders have to offer.
While Klitschko-Chagaev seemingly did an enormous number in terms of television ratings in Germany (rumors of 11 million viewers), the number here in the states is as follows according to Nielsen Media:
ESPN Classics - Wladimir Klistchko vs. Ruslah Chagaev - 2pm PST - 151,000 Total Average Viewers
All I know is that I sure hope ESPN didn't shell out any significant fee to broadcast this embarrassing display of heavyweight boxing.
With programming that only draws 151,000 viewers, it's no wonder that boxing is no longer broadcasted over the major television networks. Being that Wladimir Klistchko might be one of the most boring champions of recent times, it's probably a good thing for boxing that the masses aren't exposed to his style of fighting.
You figure out what that number means...