by David P. Greisman
The enjoyable rematch between super middleweights Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler drew nearly 1.1 million combined viewers in its two airings on HBO this past Saturday, according to a network news release.
The live showing of the bout from London’s O2 Arena at 6 p.m. Eastern Time pulled in 493,000 viewers, while the replay at 10 p.m. added 577,000 viewers, for a total of 1,070,000 viewers.
That is less than what HBO cards have typically been bringing in of late. Earlier this year, HBO’s Kery Davis said the network’s boxing broadcasts get 1.2 million viewers on average, according to an article by Michael Woods of TheSweetScience.com.
The bout also coincided with Memorial Day Weekend, when many in America typically are on vacation, at the pool, grilling or otherwise are away from their television sets.
Froch won a unanimous decision, bringing his record to 31-2 with 22 knockouts. Kessler is now 46-3 with 35 knockouts. Both men have each won a bout in their rivalry; Kessler’s victory was a unanimous decision in March 2010.
David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com