FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 9th, 2015

2 DAYS UNTIL “PBC ON NBC” HITS THE BIG APPLE THIS SAT., APRIL 11 IN PRIMETIME – NBC BOXING EXPERT STEVE FARHOOD’S MOST SIGNIFICANT NEW YORK BOXING MOMENTS

NBC Sports Digital to Live Stream Friday’s PBC on NBC Weigh-Ins via Meerkat

Live PBC on NBC Telecast at 8:30 PM ET Features Danny “Swift” Garcia (29-0) vs. Lamont Peterson (33-2-1), and “Irish” Andy Lee (34-2) vs. Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (31-0)

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 9, 2015 – In two days, boxing hits Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., for NBC’s Saturday, April 11 primetime telecast of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Marv Albert (blow-by-blow) and fellow New York-natives Al Michaels (host) and Bob Costas (special contributor) will work together on a broadcast for the first time ever, and will be joined on the telecast by analyst and six-time world champion “Sugar” Ray Leonard, corner analyst B.J. Flores, and reporter Kenny Rice.

The primetime show features four boxers with a combined 127-4-1 record and 80 KOs – undefeated superstar Danny “Swift” Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs) vs. Lamont Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs), and middleweight champion “Irish” Andy Lee (34-2, 24 KOs) vs. Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs).

NBC Sports Group’s ringside editorial consultant Steve Farhood, who has covered boxing since 1978 for The Ring and KO Magazine as well as for multiple television networks, weighs in with his five most significant bouts in New York boxing history:

  1. Joe Frazier’s 15-round win over Muhammad Ali, March 8, 1971, Madison Square Garden: “Never mind that heavyweight champion Frazier was 26-0, and former titlist Ali was 31-0. This was the most anticipated fight in history for political and social reasons as well. The hype was overwhelming—and the fight managed to live up to it.”
  2. Joe Louis’ first-round knockout over Max Schmeling, June 22, 1938, Yankee Stadium: “Louis had won the heavyweight title one year before, but refused to consider himself true champion until he avenged his lone setback, a 1936 KO loss to Schmeling.

“The stakes were unimaginably high. In a visit to the White House before the fight, Louis was told by FDR, ‘Joe, we need muscles like yours to beat Germany.’ Otherwise, no pressure at all.

“Louis delivered, breaking a pair of vertebrae in Schmeling’s back en route to a 124-second demolition.”

  1. Jack Dempsey’s second-round KO over Luis Firpo, September 14, 1923, Polo Grounds: “More than 80,000 fans witnessed a fight that is universally ranked among the top five in history.

“In round one, heavyweight champion Dempsey scored seven knockdowns, but was driven through the ropes shortly before the bell. He picked himself up, and finished Argentina’s hulking Firpo in round two. The stunning knockdown of Dempsey was voted the most dramatic sports moment in the first half of the 20th century.”

  1. Rocky Marciano’s eighth-round KO over Joe Louis, October 26, 1951, Madison Square Garden: “The last fight of the beloved Louis’ career served as a cold and stark reminder that boxing is (most of the time) a young man’s game.

“At age 37, Louis couldn’t hold off the undefeated Marciano, who applied relentless pressure before dropping and stopping ‘The Brown Bomber’ in the eighth.

“All of America shed a collective tear.”

  1. Joe Welling’s 15-round win over Johnny Dundee, September 17, 1920, Madison Square Garden: “Promoted by the legendary Tex Rickard, this was the main event of the first boxing show after the passing of the Walker Law, which made boxing legal in New York State. As a result of the law, a state commission was formed to oversee the sport, and referees or judges were okayed to render decisions in fights that went the distance.

“Other states followed New York’s lead, and boxing began to grow at a rapid rate.”

PBC ON NBC SOCIAL MEDIA

For the first time ever, NBC Sports Digital will use Meerkat, a mobile application that allows users to stream live video via Twitter, to live stream the weigh-ins for this weekend’s Premier Boxing Champions on NBC card. Tomorrow, Friday, April 10 at 1 p.m. ET the @NBCSports Twitter handle will broadcast the fighters as they weigh-in at Barclays Center before their primetime NBC debut.

On Saturday, April 11, the NBC Sports Social Media team will give boxing fans access to behind-the-scenes PBC on NBC content including the production, announce team and primetime bouts.

The best moments from the PBC on NBC broadcast will be easily accessible by following NBC Sports on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, where replays and highlights are served up from NBCSports.com. In addition, innovative short form replays will allow fans following along on social media to breakdown the best combinations from the fighters, and see the sport in a new way.

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NBC and NBCSN will present 20 live PBC on NBC boxing events in 2015. Within the 20 live shows, NBC Sports Group will present more than 50 hours of PBC coverage, including NBCSN pre- and post-fight programming for NBC telecasts. The Premier Boxing Champions series is created for television by Haymon Boxing.  The PBC on NBC will feature many of today’s brightest stars, in their most compelling matches.

All PBC on NBC shows will be streamed live on NBC Sports Live Extra via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. NBC Sports Live Extra is available for desktops at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available at the App Store for iPad and iPod touch, on select devices within Google Play, and on windows phones and tablets.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–