If you mention the name Al Haymon, you may get a positive response or a negative response, depending on who you ask. Al Haymon has done what many people in boxing had said they wanted to do, get boxing back on network television. Now how it took him to get to that point might have set the sport back some in previous years, but if we’re looking at the future, Haymon has his Premier Boxing Champions Series on NBC, ABC, ESPN, CBS, Spike TV, Bounce TV, Showtime, CBS Sports Network, and NBC Sports Network. Aside from Showtime, the other networks do not come with a subscription cost. Boxing may be changing and everyone is taking notice.
World renowned trainer Freddie Roach, who may have had issues with Haymon paying sparring partners not to spar with his fighter Manny Pacquiao says he likes what Haymon is doing.
“I like it,” Roach told ThaBoxingVoice.com. “It’s bringing mainstream back to boxing. Al Haymon, is he good or is he bad, I don’t know. You hear so many rumors. He is giving these kids an opportunity to fight on TV. It’s great for the sport. It really will develop fighters into pay-per-view fighters as they grow. I love it for the sport of boxing, more exposure for the sport.”
Maybe it was a shot to his handlers to take notice but Roach loves his prospect Frankie Gomez. But Roach feels he lacks his exposure.
“Frankie Gomez is one of my best prospects,” explained Roach. “He’s a really good prospect. I just wish they would put him on TV more because he’s a good prospect and no one knows him. He’s one of those fighters who needs to be on television so people can see the future of boxing. Frankie’s my favorite guy first and there’s nobody in the gym that can beat him right now, He’s that good.”
