HBO Is Counting on Nunn, Barkley to Go a Few Rounds

It seems that whenever a really good boxing match comes along these days, it’s televised on a pay-per-view basis.

An exception is Monday night’s Michael Nunn-Iran Barkley bout at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno. It will be on HBO, which is due for a good fight.

The truth is, HBO has been in something of a boxing slump. Carl (the Truth) Williams, Mike Tyson’s latest victim, got knocked out in 93 seconds on HBO July 21 at Atlantic City, N.J., and when the unbeaten Nunn appeared on HBO for the first time, last March 25, he knocked out Sumbu Kalambay in 88 seconds at the Las Vegas Hilton.

But don’t count on Monday’s fight ending early. Barkley, who scored a stunning third-round knockout of Thomas Hearns in June 1988 and gave Roberto Duran a tremendous battle for 12 rounds in a split-decision loss Feb. 24, figures to give Nunn plenty.

Ross Greenburg, HBO’s executive producer of sports, handles the pay-cable network’s Tyson fights. Rick Bernstein will produce coverage of Monday night’s fight.

“I’m kind of glad I don’t do the Tyson fights,” Bernstein said.

Filling nearly an hour of air time isn’t easy.

However, Bernstein hopes there will be a little extra time Monday night. Roberto Duran is fighting an exhibition bout on the undercard, and Bernstein plans to show highlights of it, time permitting.

HBO’s prefight coverage will begin at 7 p.m., with the fight scheduled to go at 7:23. HBO will offer its usual prefight profiles, something it does very well.

“You have two contrasting fighters,” Bernstein said. “Barkley is a brawler from South Bronx, Nunn a finesse fighter from Davenport, Iowa.”

An HBO crew went to Davenport to do what Bernstein calls “a small-town-boy-makes-good story,” filming Nunn with his family and hometown friends.

Nunn, though, is a Southern Californian these days. He represents Ten Goose Boxing of Van Nuys and lived in North Hollywood for several years before recently buying a home in Agoura Hills.

HBO’s regular team of Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Sugar Ray Leonard will call the fight.

Bernstein said HBO is not concerned about the restraining order issued last week by a Texas judge to halt the fight.

“We’ve been in boxing too long to panic over something like that,” Bernstein said. “These things happen all the time.”

A former trainer for Barkley is seeking money he claims the fighter owes him.

“We may or may not mention it during our prefight coverage,” Bernstein said. “It depends on if it’s pertinent.”

There will also be radio coverage of the Nunn-Barkley bout, marking the first time in many years that a championship fight outside the heavyweight division will be broadcast nationally on radio.

This 12-rounder is an International Boxing Federation middleweight title bout. Nunn won the title by knocking out Frank Tate last year and defended it against Juan Roldan and Kalambay.

KNX will carry Monday’s fight, beginning at 7 p.m.

The announcers will be Rich Marotta and Seat Williams, who called last February’s Tyson-Frank Bruno fight for the Radio Sports Network.

The company folded, however, so Marotta formed his own firm, calling it Championship Sports Broadcasting. Williams is a minority owner.

Marotta, who plans to bid on future fights as well, has lined up 47 affiliates for this one, including stations in the nation’s five major markets.

Monday’s fight will be blacked out on both radio and TV in the Reno-Lake Tahoe area.

Speaking of Marotta, he is one of the candidates to replace Tom Kelly as the radio voice of USC football and basketball.

Kelly has signed a five-year contract with Prime Ticket, for whom he will announce USC football and other sports and serve as host of the weekly “USC Sports Report.” He starts at Prime Ticket Tuesday.

Pete Arbogast, who has the advantage of working for USC flagship station KNX, is another possible replacement for Kelly, as are former USC announcer Mike Walden and a number of others, including Geoff Witcher and Joe Buttitta.

Marotta did play-by-play on USC football for Prime Ticket last season and has been the Raiders’ radio commentator, working alongside Bill King, since the team moved to Los Angeles in 1982.

“Doing both USC and the Raiders worked out fine last year,” Marotta said. “I don’t see any problem there.”

Marotta, who used to work for KNX but now is employed by KRLA, even though KFI has become the Raiders’ flagship station, said he would not give up the job with the Raiders in favor of the USC job, if it came to that.

“Professionally, it would not be wise to do that,” he said. “The timing would be terrible since the Raiders’ season is just getting under way.”

There are also plenty of candidates to replace Joel Meyers as the radio voice of UCLA. Meyers is leaving to become a pro football announcer for NBC-TV.

Both George Nicholaw, general manager at KNX, and Bill Ward, general manager at UCLA flagship station KMPC, are on vacation, so decisions on filling the positions are at least a week away.

Said UCLA Athletic Director Peter Dalis, who has a say in the choice: “I think the station has to first decide which direction it wants to go.”

If KMPC decides to look for a combination play-by-play man and sports talk-show host, which was Meyers’ role, then people such as Chris Roberts of KFI and Lee Hamilton of San Diego’s XTRA figure as strong candidates.

Hamilton is highly regarded as a host and is the Chargers’ radio play-by-play announcer.

Roberts, the Cal State Long Beach play-by-play man the last eight years, was until recently doing a talk show with Joe McDonnell. Roberts and McDonnell may come to KMPC as a tandem if the weeknight “Sportsline” show is retained.

If the show is dropped, which is a possibility, then announcers with strictly play-by-play backgrounds would have better shots, including former UCLA announcers Kent Derdivanis, Buttitta and Walden--yes, he has done the Bruins, too.

KMPC may choose to have play-by-play man Bob Starr double up and do the Rams and UCLA. Starr of course also does the Angels for Channel 5.

TV-Radio Notes

The Rams’ exhibition game at Denver Saturday will be televised live at 6 p.m., PDT, by Channel 2, which will use CBS announcers Verne Lundquist and Dan Jiggetts on the local telecast. The Rams’ three remaining exhibition games, all in Anaheim, will be televised by SportsChannel on a one-day tape-delay. . . . The Raiders’ home game against the San Francisco 49ers, also Saturday night at 6, will be shown, tape-delayed, on Channel 9 at 10:30 that night. NBC announcer Jay Randolph and Raider executive assistant Al LoCasale will report.

As if TV doesn’t have enough sports, Mizlou Communications is planning a 24-hour sports information network, Sports News Network. SNN, sort of a CNN of sports, is scheduled to make its debut later this year. . . . Also, beginning Sept. 2, FNN/SCORE will offer continuous sports news on weekends from 2 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Turner Broadcasting has hired Doug Collins, fired as coach of the Chicago Bulls, as its lead NBA commentator, according to USA Today. . . . Al Trautwig is leaving ABC to join the Madison Square Garden cable network as an anchor. He replaces Greg Gumbel, who has joined CBS full time. . . . Also, the USA cable network has announced that it has hired Trautwig to serve as the studio host during its 80 hours of U.S. Open tennis coverage. CBS will have 33 hours of Open coverage. The Open runs from Aug. 28 through Sept. 10.

SportsChannel America has announced its first national high school football schedule. It includes the Banning-Carson game Nov. 9. . . . Prime Ticket, the Kings and Continental Cablevision will hold a clinic, “Hockey 101: Understanding the Game,” open to the public, Saturday, from 2 to 4 p.m., at the Culver City Ice Rink. Announcer Bob Miller will serve as emcee.