Despite two contenders fighting on ESPN, the latest Top Rank Boxing card televised on the network did not result in a high viewership.
According to Showbuzz Daily, the August 18 Top Rank on ESPN card, headlined by a heavyweight matchup between Bryant Jennings and Alexander Dimitrenko, averaged just 686,000 viewers. The fight, which competed head to head with the NFL Network's broadcast of the Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Chargers preseason game, drew a 0.45 household rating and a 0.20 rating in the 18-49 demographic, good for 23rd on cable for August 18.
In the main event, Jennings suffered an early knockdown but bounced back and eventually stopped Dimitrenko in the ninth round to win the IBF International and WBO-NABO heavyweight titles. Jennings is now riding a five-fight win streak and is currently ranked in the top 15 by the WBA and WBO.
Once-beaten super middleweight contender Jesse Hart won his fight in the co-main event: a quick stoppage win over Mike Gavronski to retain the NABF title. Hart is currently the No. 1 super middleweight in the WBO rankings and could be WBO champion Gilberto Ramirez’s next opponent in a rematch from their 2017 fight that saw Ramirez win by unanimous decision.
The next time Top Rank Boxing is on ESPN will be August 25 with a world title doubleheader. In the first title fight, WBO super bantamweight champion Isaac Dogboe defends his title against Hidenori Otake and in the main event, WBO lightweight champion Raymundo Beltran defends his title against former super featherweight champion Jose Pedraza.
