After 45 years, more than 1,000 fights and some of the most lucrative and controversial matches of all time, HBO is throwing in the towel on professional boxing. Currently, the network has no boxing broadcasts scheduled beyond a middleweight title fight at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27. Peter Nelson, the 37-year-old executive vice president of HBO Sports, made the announcement that the new network was dropping boxing Thursday morning in a meeting with the HBO Boxing production staff, a group that includes the play-by-play announcer Jim Lampley, the analyst Max Kellerman, the ringside scorer Harold Lederman and the former boxing champions Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr., who work for HBO as freelance commentators. Of the announcing staff, only Lampley is expected to remain with HBO. “Our audience research informs us that boxing is no longer a determinant factor for subscribing to HBO.”

Source: New York Times September 27, 2018 15:47 UTC