ESPN Top Rank Boxing on Saturday night drew 2.245 million viewers according to Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily. The event was the highest-rated live boxing telecast of 2018.
Ring.tv reports that the peak of the telecast drew 2.7 million viewers. The main event saw Terrence Crawford put away Jose Benavidez, Jr. in the 12th and final round of their fight.
It drew 1.038 million viewers in the A18-49 demo according to Nielsen.
The ratings reflect the highest rating for an ESPN Top Rank Boxing telecast since Manny Pacquiao took on Jeff Horn in the first telecast of the partnership.
Payout Perspective:
This is good news for boxing and boxing fans as we have seen an expansion of boxing viewership. While HBO has foreclosed its time in the sport, PBC on Fox, Top Rank on ESPN and now DAZN’s latest coup of signing on Canelo Alvarez for his next fight this December shows that the sport continues to grow. With these latest ratings, we will see if Terence Crawford can make the next step in his career: pay-per-view star.
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