For years having developed and personalized her brand, Michelle 'Raging Babe' Rosado is poised to have a major Impact on the industry. 

The 2020 launch of Raging Babe's 'Philly Special' series will be televised by Impact Network, a faith-based urban inspirational television outlet which has vowed to make a commitment to the sport through its Impact Boxing series. The network made its boxing debut in February, made available to its reachable audience of 86 million viewers and will bring the sweet science back to its airwaves on March 27, live beginning at 9:00pm ET from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

The show is topped by an all-Philly lightweight scrap between Steven Ortiz (11-0, 3KOs) and Damon Allen (16-1-1, 5KOs), which will be contested for the Pennsylvania state lightweight title. 

“Impact found room in their schedule to bring Philly Special to its viewers,” Rosado told krikya360.com.  “Lou DiBella (Ortiz's promoter) brought them to the table. I’m grateful that he believed in the show so much, and grateful that he believed in and went to bat for me, and felt so strongly enough it needed to be televised, to make this connection. I think it’s a mutually beneficial opportunity.” 

Rosado—whose Raging Babe brand recently launched 'Boxing Moms',  a documentary-style reality series—has been actively shopping for a home for her events, particularly her 'Philly Special' shows which are near and dear to her heart. Previous editions of Raging Babe-promoted events have been carried via livestream, a common route for boxing's "middle-class" promoters who don't enjoy the benefit of alignment with a major stateside platform.

Fox Sports, ESPN, Showtime and DAZN are considered the major players in the U.S., all of whom, unfortunately, are beholden to specific promoters or managerial conglomerates. The exception is Showtime's prospect-based ShoBox series, which has worked with various entities but still selective in who gets dates. 

“For some time now, there have been no television platforms for local and regional promoters," continued Rosado. "Impact is changing that. Promoters and fighters who aren't getting opportunities on the platforms dominated by big promotional companies will get a shot, and will be seen in homes across the country.

“Stevie Ortiz vs. Damon Allen is a tremendous local match-up, and Impact will give them a chance to show they can fight and move up boxing's food chain.  It's a win-win for boxing's middle-class promoters, the ones not supported by hedge funds or by billion dollar television rights fees or streaming services. This is just what boxing needs.”

Armed with a plan to carry upwards of 48 shows in its first year in the sport, Impact Boxing hopes to shake up the status quo and serve as a game-changer. The series made its debut in February, featuring former 154-pound titlist Austin Trout in his ring return. 

This month's edition features a far more competitive main event, airing live from a city with a rich boxing tradition.

"What makes Impact special is that it's so accessible to people," said Steven Marcano, executive producer of Impact Boxing.  "When DAZN has a card, you have to have a credit card and account to watch. When Showtime has a card, you have to have premium cable to watch.  All you need to watch boxing on Impact is the lowest tier cable package.

"We are in over 86 million homes. We're making sure that everyone who has basic cable has access to good programming, good sports, and good boxing." 

The line of thinking is precisely the vision carried by Raging Babe, a crucial aspect in developing her brand. It's a mentality she's long carried, further nurtured during her time spent under the mentorship of Hall of Fame boxing personality J Russell Peltz, whose Peltz Boxing has long served as the heart of the Philadelphia boxing scene and will serve as matchmaker for Raging Babe events. 

Equally enthusiastic of this chosen path is Hall of Fame-elect promoter Lou DiBella, whose DiBella Entertainment outfit represents Ortiz and has for years worked with Rosado. 

“Philly Special is classic, grassroots, hometown boxing, featuring competitive matchups and world class talent. It deserves a real platform and I’m thrilled that I was able to help secure Impact and its 86 million basic cable homes for my partner Raging Babe,” said DiBella. "It’s been great co-promoting with Michelle, and working with Russell Peltz. I’m thrilled that Steve Marcano and IMPACT shared our enthusiasm about Philly Special and that it will be available to virtually all US boxing fans on free TV."

Landing airtime, however, isn't merely the end game. Nor is the goal to limit its offering to shows otherwise deemed as not ready for prime time.

"I think calling a show a 'club show' is old school," notes Marcano. If you take the same show and put it on Showtime, it's no longer a club show - it's a Showtime show.

"Raging Babe has great fights and an excellent game plan--they just need a little more attention and a platform to showcase their events. It's a smaller venue with limited distribution - add television and it's a sold out show in millions of homes, not a club show."

With the right response, it could also prove to be a series instead of a one-and-done offering.

"Michelle is thorough, and gets the job done," notes Marcano. "We're looking forward to working with Raging Babe on this and future cards." 

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox