Setanta packing a punch

By Ross Hawkes on April 21, 2008 8:55 AM | Permalink

They may be Sky's poorer cousins, but Setanta are getting one thing on the button - their boxing coverage.

The Calzaghe v Hopkins fight was another sign that Setanta are starting to turn the corner after some shaky sporting shows.

Good, concise build-up with relevant, informative pundits will always win the day ahead of building a fight up into something it's not as Rupert Murdoch's boys often do with every fight, be it a world title unification bout at Madison Square Garden or two glorified pub brawlers slugging it out at Dudley Town Hall.

Boxing is bouncing back as a TV sport in a big way as British brawlers start to make their mark once again and move away from the panto image Frank Bruno brought about.

The terrestrial channels obviously sniffed a gap in the market on the back of Amir Khan's Olympic success with British bouts appearing from time to time.

But Setanta have found a winning formula which could make the other channels sit up and listen.

And with them taking the rights to several football competitions next season, Sky may finally be starting to see a few shakes in their sporting house of cards.