Last night’s fight between Vasiliy Lomachenko (10-1-0, 7 KO) vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-1-0, 11 KO) delivered big on ratings, making it the second highest-rated boxing telecast on cable in 2017, according to Nielsen overnight ratings. It was an electric, full house at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City that watched two of the top ten pound-for-pound fighters in the world, both two-time Olympic gold medal winners, battle it out for the WBO Junior Lightweight World Title. Lomachenko wowed with a sixth-round TKO.
Three additional fights rounded out Saturday’s cable television card with marquee appearances by rising stars Shakur Stevenson, Chris Diaz and Mick Conlan, all three placing in the top ten fights of the year.
With the Lomachenko vs. Rigondeaux results in, ESPN now has secured seven of the top ten rated fights of the year and the highest-rated fights on cable television since July 1. In just six months, since the Top Rank on ESPN debut, ESPN has generated impressive ratings results with its boxing events starting with its telecast of Pacquiao vs Horn, the #1 rated fight of the year.
2017 Top Ten Fights on Cable Television
DATE
NETWORK
FIGHT
MTRD MKT RTG
07/01/2017
ESPN
Manny Pacquiao vs Jeff Horn
2.4
12/09/2017
ESPN
Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Guillermo Rigondeaux
1.5
12/09/2017
ESPN
Shakur Stevenson vs. Oscar Mendoza
1.1
12/09/2017
ESPN
Michael Conlon vs. Luis Molina
1.1
11/25/2017
HBO
Sergey Kovalev vs. Vyacheslav Shabranskyy
1.1
08/19/2017
ESPN
Terence Crawford vs Julius Indongo
1.0
11/11/2017
ESPN
Artur Beterbiev vs. Enrico Koelling
1.0
12/09/2017
ESPN
Chris Diaz vs. Bryant Cruz
1.0
11/25/2017
HBO
Sullivan Barrera vs. Felix Valera
1.0
Multiple tied at
0.9
Top Things to Know
· Last night’s Top Rank on ESPN telecast featuring Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux averaged a 1.3 metered market rating
· Based on overnight ratings, last night’s event alone also secured four of the year’s top ten rated boxing fights on cable
· Based on overnight ratings, this is the second highest-rated boxing telecast on cable in 2017 and the second highest-rated boxing telecast on ESPN since the start of 2016
· Las Vegas was the top local market, where the telecast averaged a 3.0 metered market rating, including a 4.5 rating during the main event
Top Local Markets
Las Vegas and Tulsa were the top two markets for the full telecast, with a 3.0 metered market rating.
Rank
Market
Metered Market Rating
1
Las Vegas
3.0
2
Tulsa
3.0
3
Oklahoma City
2.7
4
Knoxville
2.5
5
Norfolk-Portsmith-Newport
2.3
Next up on Top Rank on ESPN is the title fight between boxing’s Cinderella Man, Jeff “the Hornet” Horn and Gary “Hellraiser” Corcoran. The WBO Welterweight championship fight will air live from Brisbane, Australia Wednesday, December 13, at 6:30 a.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, and stream live on the ESPN App. Horn (17-0-1, 11 KOs) will be risking his newly-minted World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown against Top-10 contender Gary “Hellraiser” Corcoran (17-1, 7 KOs), of London. It will be the Brit’s first fight outside the United Kingdom. Horn vs. Corcoran will re-air the same day at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
