Everything changed when I had kids.
I know that sounds a little broad, but it’s another way of saying times change.
In the 1990s, I’d think nothing of staying up all night for big boxing events in the USA.
I remember hosting a pay-per-view watch party at my parents’ house for Bruno-Tyson II, really the first UK PPV, charging my pals a couple of quid each and watching them all fall asleep before the main event.
I was glued to it. Then, as time goes on, you stop pulling the all-nighter and start going to sleep at around 9-10pm, but set your alarm for your best guess of the ringwalk time, so around 4am.
Once you have kids, however, neither of those are particularly realistic because you don’t want to be moody or exhausted the next day.
Well, once the kids start growing up, it is not fights in the US that you have trouble staying up for but even the ones in the UK.
The dreaded 11pm ringwalk has become a non-negotiable ‘no’ for me unless it really is a big, significant or likely thrilling fight. Or I’m covering it. I no longer want to lose half my Sunday or break a decent sleep pattern. And staying up is a challenge and a chore, especially with so many terribly thin undercards that do so little to keep you invigorated, let alone the horrific, never-ending 45-minute breaks between fights when everything that has to be said about the upcoming fight has since long-been said.
These days, I get way more enjoyment out of staying away from my phone early on a Sunday morning, putting the previous night’s fight on and watching it “as live” with a coffee.
So yes, the struggle to stay up for fights in the US has been replaced by the struggle to stay up for shows in the UK. I’m happy to admit that.
I’m sure, by this point, you all know where this is heading.
Unless there is a minor miracle and I feel particularly spurred on at the last minute, there is no way, given where I am in my life now, that I’ll watch Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua if they walk to the ring at 2am.
Maybe that doesn’t make me a hardcore fan but it does, in my book, make me sensible. The idea of sitting in a stadium in the bleak English winter at 2am is also less than desirable, as is the journey home. Hell, the short walk upstairs after the fight is too much to imagine right now.
My outrage is not palpable. I don’t feel particularly strongly about it, but when Eddie Hearn said if people will stay up until 11pm they will stay up until 2am, he’s wrong. My wife and kids might have stayed up for Fury-AJ at 11pm. No way will they watch at 2am.
I don’t reckon any of my casual fan friends would stay up until 2am, either.
I put a poll out on X yesterday asking whether 11pm or 2am made a significant difference.
From 630 votes in a few hours, 73 per cent felt it changed things, and there were almost 30 comments.
Here were some of the points highlighted…
Sports Book Reviews
@SprtBookReviews
US boxing audience at 9pm or 6pm probably almost identical. Boxing fans will seek it out while casuals won’t. Pandering to US market makes no sense.
John
@seagull1974
Can you imagine how cold it will be in that stadium at that time?! In November. I’ll watch it at home but won’t attend. Last saw AJ-Klitschko at Wembley in the cheap seats and it wasn’t great.
Jamie Ellison
@jamieellison29
I’d have been there if it was at a normal time. Won’t even bother watching live on Netflix if it’s on at 2am. I’ll catch it in the morning.
Liam Russell
@LiamRNumeroUno
If the US audience wants to watch it, they will. Same way we all did for the US fights we wanted to watch! The fighters themselves should be adamant they want the best for UK fans as well. Obviously won’t happen but it’s a UK fight!
Joe Andrews
@TotallyBetting
Yes. I have two young kids and am too tired to be up at that time.
The England game killed me the next day. 11pm is late enough. 10pm is fine. If someone else in another country wants to watch, they can go out of their way like everyone else does if they want to watch a US or Australian fight.
Heavyweight Father
@Heavyw8Father
It’s the fucking trains that’s the problem.
Rob Gee
@robgee_1
With the fight being past its best, I’m debating whether to go watch it live as it is.
There’s no way I’m going to watch that live, in the winter, in the UK, in the middle of the night.
Ian Mason
@Ian__Mason
I would attend in person if it was a normal ring time. I’m not even sure I’ll watch it live with the middle-of-the-night start.
P/T
@Toms_PaulT
If I’m off the next day, 2am is fine by me.
Huckleberry
@RightJDH
Always confused me why boxing has to be so late. How can you expect to grow the support when fights are scheduled for when kids are in bed and casuals asleep?
What legit reason is there for it (or any main event fight) not being 8pm prime time on Saturday?
Phil Cron
@cronny91
Normal time for a UK fight, and yes it makes a huge difference as the precedent it sets is disgusting and we are being taken for a ride. All British fight fans need to boycott this. They are two British fighters fighting. The Americans don’t even care about it.
Osmosis28
@Osmosis28
Rather it had happened 10yrs ago, not interested at all now...
Bladesman
@AdySmart1889
11pm a lot of people will watch it. 2am people won’t bother. They will realise this fight doesn’t actually mean anything, five years too late and nobody cares about either of them.
THELUFCDIARIES
@THELUFCDIARIES
No, hardcore fans will watch it at any time.
Tim Rickson
@TimRickson
I’d watch at 11pm, defo not staying up till 2am.
It is a mix. Some people won’t care. Some people will protest. Some will take their medicine and watch the next day. Others will get very, very rich.
Of course, we have been told that it is Netflix who want the broadest possible market and that means making it as easy to consume for the Americans as possible. But I’d contend if they’re going to watch it at 5pm, they’re going to watch it at 2pm. Touché. The fight isn’t being moved for boxing fans. It’s being moved for casual American viewers, yet this isn’t a fight that casual American viewers have been waiting years to see. And they’re really taking a punt on Americans being fussed about a fight that many British fight fans have long since grown weary of and fatigued by.
Fury and AJ both have to win their knockovers later this month first, obviously.
But it’s funny, after all this waiting, it’s finally apparently time to settle it with these two when, actually, they can’t even settle on a time.
"These days, I get way more enjoyment out of staying away from my phone early on a Sunday morning, putting the previous night’s fight on and watching it “as live”"
This is exactly what I do! Glad it's not a solo strategy.
World Cup timings have had a massive impact on me, for example Argentina v Switzerland - would love to watch but not at 2am. Can't see myself staying up for this fight if they go for 2am... midnight maybe. Also, depends on the undercard.