Top Rank#Top Rank Boxing on ESPN

The precursor to Top Rank was Main Bout, a company founded by Muhammad Ali in 1966 to promote his fights. Along with Muhammad Ali, other early equity owners of the company included Jabir Herbert Muhammad, Bob Arum, and John Ali (chief aide to Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad).{{cite web |title=Risk vs. Reward |url=https://www.toprank.com/all-news/risk-vs-reward-top-rank-innovation-boxing/ |website=Top Rank Boxing |access-date=September 10, 2018}} The company was founded after the Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson fight, and the company mainly handled Ali's boxing promotions and pay-per-view closed-circuit television broadcasts in the late 1960s. The company's stockholders included several other fellow Nation of Islam members.{{cite book|last=Ezra|first=Michael|title=The Economic Civil Rights Movement: African Americans and the Struggle for Economic Power|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136274756|page=105|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DL41bsCigZcC&pg=PA105|language=en}}

In the early 1980s, Top Rank Boxing and then-fledgling ESPN formed a partnership to bring a weekly boxing to the cable network which culminated with the first regularly televised boxing series since 1964. The first event was held on April 10, 1980, in Atlantic City, when middleweight Frank Fletcher decisioned Ben Serrano.{{cite news|url=https://bigfightweekend.com/news/40-years-of-top-rank-boxing-on-espn|title=40 Years of Top Rank Boxing on ESPN|website=Big Fight Weekend|date=April 10, 2020|access-date=December 16, 2020}} The original Top Rank Boxing on ESPN was the longest-running cable series and weekly boxing series in history, after celebrating its 16th consecutive year in 1996. ESPN broke away from the contract afterward, replacing it with Friday Night Fights—a new series that would feature fights from other promotions and aired on ESPN2.{{cite web|title=No longer fighting, Top Rank, ESPN talk about fights|url=http://www.espn.com/blog/dan-rafael/post/_/id/283/no-longer-fighting-top-rank-espn-talk-fights|website=ESPN.com|date=3 September 2009 |publisher=ESPN Inc.|access-date=July 1, 2017}}

In July 2017, Top Rank began to soft launch a new broadcasting agreement with ESPN, beginning with Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn,{{cite web|url=http://www.boxingscene.com/pacquiao-horn-air-live-on-espn-9pm-et6pm-pt--117713|title=Pacquiao-Horn To Air Live on ESPN, 9PM ET/6PM PT|website=Boxing Scene|language=en-us|access-date=June 20, 2017}}{{cite web|title=ESPN to televise Manny Pacquiao's next fight as part of new Top Rank agreement|url=https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2017/6/19/15826854/report-espn-manny-pacquiao-vs-jeff-horn-new-top-rank-agreement-boxing-news|website=Bloody Elbow (SB Nation)|date=19 June 2017 |publisher=Vox Media|access-date=June 19, 2017}} followed by two more cards in August.{{cite web|title=Vasyl Lomachenko, Terence Crawford to headline live ESPN cards in August|url=http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/19771115/vasyl-lomachenko-terence-crawford-headline-live-espn-cards-august|website=ESPN.com|date=30 June 2017 |publisher=ESPN Inc.|access-date=July 1, 2017}} That month, ESPN officially announced a multi-year agreement, calling for events airing across ESPN linear and digital properties (including its recently-launched subscription service ESPN+), and an option to carry events on pay-per-view.{{Cite news|url=http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/20465923/top-rank-espn-hammer-complicated-deal-bring-top-rank-fights-exclusively-espn-platforms-years-come|title=Top Rank signs exclusive 4-year deal with ESPN|publisher=ESPN|access-date=2017-08-28}}{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2017/08/espn-top-rank-caa-sports-espn-deportes-burke-magnus-todd-duboef-1202156905/|title=ESPN And Top Rank Announce Multi-Year Agreement For New Fight Series|last=Ramos|first=Dino-Ray|date=August 26, 2017|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|access-date=August 28, 2017|language=en-US}} On August 2, 2018, ESPN extended the agreement through 2025.{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2018/08/espn-sets-landmark-boxing-deal-with-top-rank-through-2025-1202438747/|title=ESPN Sets Landmark Boxing Deal With Top Rank Through 2025|last=Hayes|first=Dade|date=2018-08-02|work=Deadline|access-date=2018-08-02|language=en-US}}

• Kenneth Anderson (a.k.a. Mr. Kennedy / Mr. Anderson)

• Sal Marchiano (1980–1983){{cite news |last1=Alfano |first1=Peter |title=Embarrassing Night in Boxing |work=The New York Times |date=July 12, 1983}}
• Sam Rosen (1983–1986){{cite news |last1=Winderman |first1=Ira |title=ESPN's Bernstein Won't Go Down Without a Fight |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1986-05-13-8601280835-story.html |access-date=19 March 2022 |work=Sun-Sentinel |date=May 13, 1986}}
• Al Bernstein (1986–1996)
• Don Chevrier (1987–1988){{cite news |title=Roundup Baseball |work=The Globe and Mail |date=September 24, 1987}}
• Tom Kelly (1988–1989)
• Barry Tompkins (1989–1994){{cite news |last1=Sarni |first1=Jim |title=Saturday is Dream for Football Fanatics |work=Sun Sentinel |date=November 18, 1988}}
• Bob Papa (1996–2003){{cite news |last1=Lindquist |first1=Jerry |title=Berman's Forecast on Redskins: Wait Till Next Year |work=Richmond Times - Dispatch |date=August 22, 1994}}
• Joe Tessitore (2003–present)

• Al Bernstein (1980–1986, 1987–1998)
• Tommy Hearns (1980)
• Randy Gordon (1980–1982){{cite news |last1=Katz |first1=Michael |last2=Johnson |first2=Roy S. |title=Announcer Loses |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/19/sports/scouting-announcer-loses.html |access-date=14 January 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=October 19, 1982}}
• Donald Curry (1985){{cite news |last1=Myslenski |first1=Skip |last2=Kay |first2=Linds |title=Odds & INS. |work=Chicago Tribune |date=August 29, 1985}}
• Dave Bontempo (1986–1998)
• Teddy Atlas (1998–2017){{cite web |last=Pugmire |first=Lance |date=December 13, 2017 |title=Boxing analyst Teddy Atlas is removed by ESPN from live fights |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/boxing/la-sp-sn-boxing-teddy-atlas-20171213-story.html |access-date=May 10, 2019}}
• Andre Ward (2017–2023)
• Mark Kriegel (2017–present)
• Timothy Bradley (2020–present)

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• Muhammad Ali
• Mikey Garcia
• Miguel Cotto
• Floyd Mayweather
• Oscar De La Hoya
• Mike Alvarado
• Jorge Arce
• Urbano Antillon
• José Benavidez
• Timothy Bradley
• Iván Calderón
• José Luis Castillo
• Martín Castillo
• Julio César Chávez Jr.
• Omar Chávez
• Joshua Clottey
• Bernabe Concepcion
• Terence Crawford
• Kid Diamond
• David Díaz
• Nonito Donaire
• Esquiva Falcão
• Yuri Foreman
• Yuriorkis Gamboa
• Miguel Angel Garcia
• Kendall Holt
• Demetrius Hopkins
• Miguel Angel Huerta
• Nobuhiro Ishida
• Jesus Soto Karass
• Vasiliy Lomachenko
• Juan Manuel Lopez
• Francisco Lorenzo
• Steven Luevano
• Antonio Margarito
• Raul Martinez
• Vanes Martirosyan
• Egor Mekhontsev
• Fernando Montiel
• Tommy Morrison
• Ryota Murata
• Manny Pacquiao
• Arnold Barboza Jr.
• Kelly Pavlik
• Anthony Peterson
• Lamont Peterson
• Hasim Rahman
• Brandon Rios
• Marco Antonio Rubio
• Andy Ruiz
• Mario Santiago
• Giovanni Segura
• Jorge Solís
• Ulises Solís
• Glen Tapia
• Anthony Thompson
• Ricardo Torres
• Brian Viloria
• José Luis Zertuche
• Shiming Zou

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Early in its history, Top Rank promoted the Snake River Canyon jump of daredevil Evel Knievel in September 1974.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tD8sAAAAIBAJ&pg=5458%2C5384962 |newspaper=Spartanburg Herald |location=South Carolina |agency=Associated Press |title=Is he an athlete, daredevil, promoter, hoax, or a nut? |date=June 25, 1974 |page=B2 }}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vB5OAAAAIBAJ&pg=2902%2C1401569 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=Congressman says Evel bad influence on kids |date=September 4, 1974 |page=2}} The event, at Twin Falls, Idaho, was shown live on paid closed circuit television in hundreds of theaters, for about ten dollars each.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vx5OAAAAIBAJ&pg=7320%2C3429100 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=Evel Knievel canyon leap today |date=September 8, 1974 |page=16}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cTRWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6609%2C2290457 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Oregon |last=Sellard |first=Dan |title=Evel Knievel's leap at canyon ends in draw |date=September 9, 1974 |page=1B}}{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1974/09/06/page/40/article/pirates-add-pitcher |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |agency=(advertisement) |title=Snake River Canyon Jump |date=September 6, 1974 |page=2, section 3}} The steam-powered Skycycle X-2 had a premature deployment of its parachute and Knievel survived.

{{reflist|2}}

• {{official website|http://www.toprank.com/}}
• {{YouTube|user=TRboxing}}

{{Boxing on television}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Professional boxing promotion companies

Category:ESPN original programming

Category:Boxing television series

Category:1980 American television series debuts

Category:1996 American television series endings

Category:2017 American television series debuts

Category:1980s American sports television series

Category:1990s American sports television series

Category:2000s American sports television series

Category:2020s American sports television series

Category:Companies based in Paradise, Nevada

Category:Entertainment companies established in 1973

Category:American companies established in 1973

Category:1973 establishments in Nevada