AL BERNSTEIN SAYS PACQUIAO-MOSLEY TAKES US “BACK TO THE FUTURE”

Posted on | February 12, 2011 | No Comments

When Hall of Fame broadcaster Al Bernstein announces the May 7th Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley match on Showtime Pay per view , it will come 31 years, almost to the day, after he announced his first boxing match on national television. “My first ESPN Top Rank Boxing telecast was May 15, 1980 and I am as excited for the coming Pacquiao-Mosley fight as I was for that assignment,” Al said. He added, “the difference is that I was excited then for me, for what I hoped was the beginning of a broadcasting career. For this fight I am excited for the sport of boxing.”

Bernstein, who will call the action at ringside for this pay per view mega-fight, said this show is boxing’s version of Back to the Future. “In 1980 we were pioneering cable television and it helped the sport of boxing immensely as an adjunct to the great boxing shows on over the air network television. With this event boxing revisits that formula of using the synergy of both Showtime and CBS to market, report on and ultimately present this great event,” Al said.

While this goes back to a previous success model, it spins forward to the future by adding the strong internet presence of Showtime and Top Rank and the boxing media in general. “The world wide popularity of Manny Pacquiao is fueled by the internet, and when boxing was not covered for a decade or more by mainstream media (especially in the United States) internet sites filled the breach to inform and entertain boxing fans around the world,” Al pointed out.

Bernstein, who is a big part of internet boxing coverage as Executive Producer of Boxingchannel.com, said the other important part of the fight’s “game changing appeal” is that it will be stamped with the broadcast and production values of Showtime. “There are certain things that define Showtime boxing and MMA events and they will be evident on May 7th. We take an informational and nuanced approach that follows the evolving storyline wherever it takes us. Our goal is always to simply enhance the event for the viewer while allowing it to play out in a natural way.”