Eddie Chambers vs Tony Thompson Has No TV Outlet

Speaking with Mike Coppinger, heavyweight contender Eddie Chambers bemoaned the lack of TV interest for an upcoming fight with Goossen Tutor stablemate Tony Thompson, but says the fight will go ahead:

"There’s most likely not gonna be any television involved and that’s what bugs me so much about it, that no one’s gonna see it and it’s going to be a really good fight," Chambers said. "But right now it doesn’t seem like any television is gonna be involved."

"It’s disappointing to me, the fact that there’s no TV and virtually no interest from the networks to even want to televise it."

Chambers (36-2, 18 KO) is right that it's a good fight for both, a pair of top ten guys in the division who are trying to work their way back to title shots. But whether or not it makes for a fun fight to watch is another story, and the TV interest in the heavyweight division has dwindled so severely over the last few years that this really can't come as much of a surprise to Chambers, Thompson, Goossen, or anyone else. HBO took a shot at a heavyweight fight on June 25 when they aired unknown Bermane Stiverne against career mediocrity Ray Austin, and the fight was a snoozer that failed to make Stiverne -- a potential Vitali Klitschko opponent thanks to the win -- look like someone that HBO would want to pay to air again.

HBO has taken some steps back into the division this year, and may keep trying. Golden Boy's Seth Mitchell is on their radar, and has been featured on ShoBox already, too. They aired Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye, which was the first Klitschko fight since Dec. 2009 they did air (and the first Wlad fight since Dec. 2008), and they will have Vitali's September 10 fight from Poland with Tomasz Adamek, too. But they seem to be interested in two things: Potential future contenders and Klitschko opponents, and the Klitschko brothers, who are stars. I don't think Chambers and Thompson (36-2, 24 KO) really fit the bill. They are known commodities who have had their shots.

Still, it's a fight that if it's going to happen, I do hope we see somehow, even if by a nice, legal internet stream. The bout is scheduled for late August or early September.