Boxing News: Oscar De La Hoya scores for Ricky Hatton a New Television Deal


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Oscar De La Hoya scores for Ricky Hatton a New Television Deal

By Johnny Benz (March 23, 2008) Doghouse Boxing

According to a report out by ESPN's Dan Rafael, Ricky Hatton's next fight set for May 24th in England against Juan Lazcano won't be shown on HBO. Hatton who has fought exclusively on HBO since early 2006, will be fighting on Versus this time around.

Rafael reports that Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, which recently signed Hatton to a promotional deal, has now made a deal with Versus to televise Hatton vs. Lazcano.

Rafael further reports that Versus will also be airing as part of the card Paulie Malignaggi's rematch against Lovemore N'Dou.

Quoted by ESPN, Golen Boy's CEO Richard Schaefer stated he hopeful that the agreement with Versus could lead to future fights being aired on the network.

Schaefer told ESPN: "We hope, of course, it will lead to something else, but there are no assurances or guarantees." Schaerer added: "But it was important for us to showcase Ricky's fight in the United States and important for fans to be able to see it live. We are really glad that Versus stepped up to the plate. There were other networks interested, including ESPN, including Showtime, but we felt we wanted to do it with Versus. We talked to NBC and ABC, but those would have been time buys. Everything fell into place with Versus. They really wanted the fight and were excited and enthusiastic to have someone like Ricky Hatton on their network. They wanted it the most."

The deal with Versus will pay "in the low six-figures" for the rights to the card, said Schaefer on ESPN.com.

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