London (25th July) TYSON Fury proved on Saturday night that he’s not only the new star of World boxing after winning the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles but also a major ratings puller for Channel 5.
Channel 5 executives were left thrilled by 6ft 9′ Fury’s sensational performance in the victory over Dereck Chisora at Wembley Arena which attracted a peak audience figure of 3m viewers – demonstrating once again the appeal of boxing to the public.
British and Commonwealth champion Fury is now ready to become a global star with not only Channel 5 but American broadcasters eager to screen his future fights.
Fury’s promoter Mick Hennessy believes the victory over Chisora is just the start of a great journey for the 22-year-old right to the top of world boxing.
Hennessy said: “The figures for Channel 5 were fantastic and I have to give great credit to Channel 5 because they listened to me and they believed in me when I told them about Tyson, unlike other broadcasters.
“When I promoted the World title fight between Carl Froch and Jean Pascal the figures were roughy 2.9m and that was a World title on ITV with a big build-up.
This is just the start for Tyson, he’s a winner in the ring and he’s a winner with the public sitting at home wanting to see a proper fighter and a guy who has the charisma to entertain them.
“The future is looking very bright for Tyson, we want him to win the Irish title next and then the European title and Channel 5 now have the opportunity to bring those fights to an even bigger audience. Nobody in British boxing is getting this amount of people watching their fights. Towards the end of the fight it recorded the highest veiwing figures and was the most watched program on British television.”
