USA Tuesday Night Fights
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USA Tuesday Night Fights | |
---|---|
Directed by | Anthony Giordano Lenny Stucker |
Starring | Al Albert Angelo Dundee (1982-1984) Randy Gordon (1984-1987) Sean O'Grady (1987-1998) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Running time | 120 minutes |
Production company | USA Network |
Original release | |
Release | October 1, 1982 August 25, 1998 | –
USA Tuesday Night Fights (formerly Friday Night Boxing, Wednesday Night Fights, Thursday Night Fights) is a television boxing show. It aired from October 1, 1982, through August 25, 1998 on the USA Network; at one time it was the longest continually-running boxing show on television. The show debuted on October 1, 1982, as Friday Night Boxing (1982-1984), and then, Wednesday Night Fights (1984-1986), and later, Thursday Night Fights (1986-1990).
USA Tuesday Night Fights was hosted by
The program, for most of its time on air, was sponsored by
Like some of its similar fellow boxing programs, Tuesday Night Fights did not always emanate from large arenas. Instead, cards usually took place in smaller venues, such as
Notable fights
Few world title fights were presented in this show, one of the notable ones being when
Another title fight aired by USA was the 1988
. The fight was significant in that it was the last ever title match scheduled for 15 rounds. The fight went the distance, with Paez earning a majority decision.On March 19, 1996, USA featured a bout between Jeremy Williams and Arthur Weathers as the headline of their show broadcast from the Spruce Goose Dome in Williams' home of Long Beach, California. Williams, at the time a rising heavyweight contender, dropped Weathers with an uppercut almost immediately after the bell rang to start the contest and referee Marty Denkin called a halt to the contest after ten seconds, which was erroneously referred to as a world record for quickest knockout (although it remains one of the fastest ever).
On March 18, 1997, USA saw what is officially the world's quickest knockout. The bout between heavyweights Jimmy Thunder and Crawford Grimsley lasted only 1.5 seconds after Thunder caught Grimsley with a right hook to the head that sent him to the canvas.
Both George Foreman and Larry Holmes were frequently featured on Tuesday Night Fights as they began to return after their initial retirements. Both fighters' comeback fights were aired on USA, and Holmes fought on a semi-regular basis on the program until he declared, on air, in 1996 that he would not likely fight again unless he could secure a title match.
A future opponent of Holmes, Butterbean, received some of his earliest exposure as a professional fighter by fighting several four rounders on Tuesday Night Fights.
Roberto Durán was another fixture on Tuesday Night Fights later in his career, and his 100th professional bout was carried by USA.
Tuesday Night Fights also showcased the bizarre from time to time. Among these was a fight from former pro football star
Other world champions to fight on the show
Many other world champions fought on this show, whether as prospects or later in their careers. This included names such as
Cancellation
On April 9, 1998, USA Network founder Kay Koplovitz, who served as head of the USA Network since 1977 and who was instrumental in the USA Network's programming structure, left the network, with new overall USA Network owner Barry Diller taking her positions as chairman and CEO.[1][2] After taking Koplovitiz's CEO position, Diller made plans to cut at least $40 million from the USA Network's massive budget, which had been criticized for overspending on content which was not deemed feasible.[1] In August 1998, USA Tuesday Night Fights was cancelled after programming changes were made and budget cuts reduced the ability to broadcast fights.[3]
Rebroadcasts
In June 2006, CSI Sports, through its FIGHT SPORTS division, began airing a compilation of some of the best knockouts from the Tuesday Night Fights series titled USA Tuesday Night Fights: Knockouts! on pay-per-view. Narrated by current
The Tuesday Night Fights: Knockouts! series was also released on DVD in a two-volume box set.
CSI later came out with a series called Wide World of Fights, which has a much broader scope and includes
See also
- Friday Night Fights (a television boxing show airing on ESPN2from 1998–present)
References
- ^ a b Hofmeister, Sallie (April 10, 1998). "USA Networks CEO Kay Koplovitz Resigns". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- ^ "USA Network founder quits". CNN Money. April 9, 1998. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- ^ Robb, Sharon (August 10, 1998). "TV Lights Go Out On Boxing Series". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 5, 2022.