What do Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Joel Osteen and Paula White have to do with boxing? Not much. But that will soon change.
On Feb. 1, pugilism and evangelism will become unlikely bedfellows when the Impact Network, an African American-owned, urban Christian cable channel whose core programming consists of ministries by popular pastors, televises a boxing card in Ruidoso, New Mexico headlined by former junior middleweight titleholder Austin Trout. And that, alas, is only the beginning.
For the next two years, Impact, which claims to be available in over 85 million homes, plans to air 52 live fight cards. It will also produce 60 episodes of a new reality television series devoted to chronicling the lives of its pugilists called “Champions and Stars“. The first episode airs on Jan. 31.
In other words, boxing, a violent pursuit often associated with a certain moral low ground, will play alongside programming featuring noted televangelists sermonizing on topics like the Beatitudes and gospel singers like Bobby Jones.
It’s not exactly what one would call a match made in heaven. But why pigeonhole one’s audience?
“Just because the person may say that he’s African-American or I like a certain kind of food or that I’m a Christian and I don’t like sports – no,” Royal Jackson, Impact’s creative director, told Boxing Junkie. “Many believers are sports fans, whether it’s football, basketball and certainly boxing. It’s very narrow minded to stereotype people that way.
“We’re looking to cast a wider net. We don’t just want to preach to the choir. We want to open the borders up a bit to invite people to come to Impact who otherwise are not inclined. It’s not so much about retention, it’s about expansion.”
Indeed, there may be more similarity between boxing and the Bible than meets the eye.
“There is a redemptive aspect to Impact as well,” Jackson said. “We want to take the people that society has forgotten about and support them and be able to give them chances as well. Boxing is another way. A lot of boxers have checkered pasts and they’re fighting their way through it. If you open up your arms to embrace them and help them become something better and give them a new vision of themselves, it’s an opportunity versus closing another door on their face.”
From a pragmatic standpoint, boxing also offers fresh content for a channel looking to expand and diversify its programming horizons. Impact was founded by Jackson’s father, Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, Impact’s CEO and a prominent pastor of the Detroit mega church Great Faith Ministries, and his wife and fellow pastor, Beverly Jackson. The couple created Impact in 2010 out of a desire to establish a platform for ministers who could promote faith-based values.
Initially distributed through a local power station, where it grew to 200,000 homes, Impact was added to the Charter Communications family in 2017. (Impact is available when you sign up for the Spectrum Silver package.) Now, they are ready to expand on that initial vision.
“Impact is a lifestyle company and a lifestyle brand when it comes to creating enriching and empowering entertainment,” Bishop Jackson said. “Just like MTV first started with music videos and that was their core programming, but later you saw reality TV shows, movies, award shows. If people can go to Impact and see boxing … why have it where someone has to change the channel to get that programming? Why not keep them locked on Impact?”
Of course, the fights on Impact will reflect the greater spiritual ethos of the network. That means any swearing during the broadcast will be bleeped out and ring card girls won’t be scantily clad.
“We want Impact to impact you not just spiritually, but also with good wholesome, family programming,” Bishop Jackson said.
Bishop Jackson also notes that sport has abounded with men of faith, including heavyweights Evander Holyfield and George Foreman, and current welterweight titleholder Manny Pacquiao.
“One of our strategies is that we would love to give former champions and current champions an ability to have a platform to represent their message,” Bishop said. “So I don’t think it’s a strange vehicle, having boxing on Impact.
Added Royal Jackson: “We’re not in the business of shoving the gospel down anybody’s throat. We’re really in the business of highlighting the life of these people who have integrity and letting their life shine. We’re taking a new approach to faith-based media.”
While boxing marks Impact’s first foray into the sports realm, its executives are careful to note that it is merely one of a number of items on their menu.
“We’re not a sports channel, just want to make that clear,” Bishop Jackson said. “Boxing is added programming.”
Boxing, depending on whom you ask, is also undergoing a renaissance of sorts. Impact will join a space that has become relatively crowded in recent years. Established linear networks like Fox, ESPN and Showtime have a hand in the sport, as well as over-the-top streaming platforms like DAZN. For some, the competition is a sign of the sport’s renewed health; for others, it might be spreading the sport too thin.
Steven Marcano, the architect behind Impact’s entry into the sport, is clearly of the former opinion. A longtime showrunner who has worked with the likes of Don King and Mike Tyson, Marcano is perhaps best known for conceiving the boxing reality television series “Knockout,” which ran for three seasons and featured Roy Jones Jr. and Shane Mosley. The sport’s current best fighters and top stars are already been spoken for, but that doesn’t concern Marcano, whose ambitions lie with showcasing boxers who don’t quite have a home, including budding prospects and contenders who have been written off by other promoters.
In addition to Trout, the Feb. 1 card will feature El Paso featherweight Abel Mendoza and heavyweight Alonzo Butler, who has served as chief sparring partner for Deontay Wilder in the past. For Marcano, activity is key.
“We will put on seven fights a month from a roster of 20 fighters,” said Marcano, who plans to announce the full stable soon. “I’m fighting guys six times a year. Austin Trout fought two times in the last three or four years. Austin is fighting Feb. 1, he’s fighting again in May, then September, and he may even fight in November. And it’s all scheduled already.
“Inactivity is what hurts fighters.”
Marcano is also cognizant of the constant infighting that takes place between rival promoters and network entities. He stresses that Impact will welcome collaboration with other promoters.
“We don’t have a wall over here,” Marcano said. “This helps Bob Arum, Al Haymon, Oscar De La Hoya. Then you have all these guys that don’t get mentioned because they don’t have TV spots, like (Lou) DiBella and (Kathy) Duva. They’re great promoters, and if we can do a deal that makes sense, then we would be open to working with every last one of them.
“It’s not about us changing the landscape of boxing, it’s what does boxing need. Boxing needs somebody like Impact that can fill the void.”
But where Marcano believes Impact will make the biggest difference in the sport is the way it will introduce fighters to new revenue streams and possibly new career paths after they finish boxing.
“If you look at reality television stars, most of the people aren’t making astronomical numbers off the shows,” Marcano said. “They make them off endorsements, appearances and sponsorships. Fighters don’t have any ancillary income. If you’re the best promoter in the world, you should be able to get ancillary income for your fighters so they have a life after the sport when they’re not in the ring.
“What we’re trying to work on is becoming a multimedia group for boxing because there is no reason why boxers shouldn’t have commercials and endorsements. Boxers have never had that. Outside from a few, the majority are doing the cookie cutter stuff.”
Working with Marcano on the promotional side is Teresa Tapia, the wife of the late three-division titleholder Johnny Tapia, and Sterling McPherson, who will be oversee the nuts and bolts of the actual boxing cards. Together, Marcano believes they will make an imprint on the sport sooner rather than later.
“In 2021, we’re going to make (Impact) the biggest outlet for boxing in the country,” he said. “The only way we can do that is to work with other promoters. We want our fighters to fight three times a year and get them in shape and make them into stars in a short period of time.”