Boxing Rumor Mill Check: Is Popular Boxing Website Closing?

Boxing rumor mill material is always simmering. It makes sense, because there is no league putting a schedule together: it’s every person for themself, hustling to advance and excel. The rumor mill has this week been featuring chatter centered around the top-tier website Boxing Scene.

The site, started and run by Rick Reeno, a Nevada resident, is a go-to for boxing aficionados who want to get up to date on the going on within the sweet science realm.

But is Boxing Scene shutting down? We heard whispers to that effect. Maybe shut down, maybe sold?

So I messaged Reeno a couple times, even told him hey, I’m a fellow journal, talk to me, bro.

To no avail….Did not hear back, which is Rick’s right. That could mean something, or maybe not, maybe Rick isn’t in the mood to answer queries. His prerogative, of course. But the question remains, then.

Reeno is to be lauded for his effort, which has BS at the top of the heap in boxing media (old guard/text heavy) in an age where pivot to video is the norm. LinkedIn shows the length of the stint

Boxing Rumor Mill Check, Asked Around If Boxing Scene Is On Stable Ground

I reached out to a few other folks who’d maybe be in the know, if, say, the folks at CBS that purchased the site from Reeno in 2018 now might want to discharge that affiliation.

Because as you heard, Paramount owns CBS, and has been doing some response to cable cord cutting, which included axing Showtime sports division.

Yes, the boxing, they’ve been serving it up for 38 years, from Jay Larkin running the ship, to Ken Hershman, to Stephen Espinoza, with Al Albert and Bobby Czyzy and the Fight Doctor to Nick Charles and Al Bernstein and Paulie and Al, and etc.

Their second to last show is tomorrow (Saturday), and now we hear maybe Boxing Scene is in danger of closing? No bueno.

Change is constant in boxing, a sport in transition roughly every 2-4 years. This wouldn’t be positive change, not from my perch.

Rooting For Boxing Scene To Keep On Succeeding

It’s just a boxing rumor as of now, I hope it not to be the case. I’ve done work for Reeno and BS, and give props to Rick for his diligence in maintaining that entity.

SIDE NOTE: I have to check if I only talked to FightNews and Flattop, or ever did something for them….But I’m the only guy who has done stints at just about every damn web outlet for boxing coverage. And it’s sad to note archives for most all those digital endeavors are either lacking or nonexistent.)

In rough order: FightNews, SecondsOut, MaxBoxing, ESPN.com, TheSweetScience, Boxing Scene, RING, Bad Left Hook, NYFIGHTS (and I know I’m forgetting some brief stops, and leaving out defunct and/or derelict platforms).

I share that to 1) marvel aloud at that frickin’ list, 2) semi salute myself for sticking with it, despite vocational head winds 2) salute people (like Reeno) who do this grind, which I sometimes call “feeding the beast.”

Anyway….we know this is a different age, that quality is often under appreciated, and that stuff sometimes happens in the name of servicing debt which benefits mostly a narrow few, who already have enough yachts, in theory.

But I best stop, lest I attract the attention of Rick Glaser, and get tempted to debate the merits of capitalism versus all other options for systems of economy.

Here’s the wording from the 2018 release which touted the acquisition by CBS. Where does that deal stand now?

NOTE: I messaged the executive quoted in that release, on LinkedIn, so I’ll post a response if received.

Boxing Had A Really Good First Half Of 2023, But Then….

Showtime (and PBC) had a good run the first half of 2023. Now, the pro boxing scene is in heavy transition.
Photo: Ryan Hafey, Premier Boxing Champions

Boxing had a solid first half of the year, we saw fights getting made which in past years would not have occurred, some of the best fighting the best and Showtime had a heavy hand in plenty of that positivity.

Then, to get word that no, you aren’t being shut down because of lack of performance, it’s just that…

Wait, why is the Paramount honcho squad shutting down a “sector” which wasn’t a money suck, and showed continuing viability as a platform with PPV and gate movers like Gervonta Davis in the fold, with Haymon Boxing?

It’s a rhetorical question until some journo corners some exec and gets a response to that decision, and this media-centric sticky boxing rumor, as to WHY.

Now, the Haymon team is in transition—will Al find a slot on the Amazon or Apple islands?—will the Saudis keep scooping up market share and will that influence where Haymon’s talent (and perhaps many/most of the Sho staff (front and back of house as well) land?

There are lots of shoes, in various states of dropping, so the mill of chatter is upticking. Yeah, until we know more specifics, there will be some chatter that we pick up and need confirmation/denial.

Me, I’m hoping it’s pure smoke, no fire, and that Boxing Scene will carry on. I’m a fan.