Fans are watching boxing even when there’s no boxing.
ESPN’s replay of the third fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975 – The “Thrilla in Manila” – was the sixth-most-watched sports-related show of the past week, according to ShowBuzzDaily. An average of 699,000 people watched the fight, Forbes reported.
As Forbes pointed out, that figure is higher than the 683,000 who viewed the Wednesday episode of the new professional wrestling outfit AEW Dynamite.
Classic boxing shows made up eight of the 20 most-watched sports programs this past week. That also included Ali-Frazier I, Mike Tyson-Michael Spinks and Oscar De La Hoya-Julio Cesar Chavez.
An ESPN boxing analyst Tweeted: “Amazing numbers on ESPN Linear. … Boxing Library works amazing! Perhaps better than any other Sport.”
ESPN devoted 11 hours to boxing on Saturday, including the first time the first Ali-Frazier has been televised since 1991. That fight had an average audience of 641,000. The second Ali-Frazier fight averaged 607,000.
The only live card on ESPN this year — headlined by Eleider Alvarez vs. Michael Seals — averaged 704.000 viewers.
Live sports have been sidelined as a result of the corona virus pandemic.
Amazing numbers on ESPN Linear. Congrats to ESPN @matthewkenny and Top Rank.
Boxing Library works amazing! Perhaps better than any other Sport = Viva! pic.twitter.com/pSCIMqOyJ0
— @BarbosaBox (@BarbosaBox) April 21, 2020