TV numbers suggest Tyson Fury will prove massive boost to Frampton undercard

The Irish fighters lucky enough to secure a place on the undercard of Carl Frampton‘s dream Windsor Park fight night could benefit massively from Tyson Fury’s addition to the card.

While fighting in a packed stadium on a what promises to be a massive event is always appealing the appearance of the former unified heavyweight champion will provide those on the TV undercard a massive chance to win new fans and increase their profile outside of Ireland. 

While Frampton [25(14)-1(0)] is the biggest draw in Ireland and possibly the best supported featherweight in the world Fury brings a whole new level of interest in Britain, and indeed internationally.

Fury [26(20)-0] recorded by far the highest linear subscription TV viewing figure for boxing this year, peaking at 814,000 live viewers on BT Sport last Saturday night – the most-viewed boxing event outside the Anthony Joshua v Joseph Parker pay-per-view.

Eyeballs galore tuned in to see the Gypsy King dust off the cobwebs after a protracted lay-off of almost three years out of the ring as he made Sefer Seferi quit in his corner at the end of the 4th round of an admittedly.

While there was certainly an element of curiosity that contributed to the big numbers, a stronger card,, the stadium element, and potentially a much better opponent those figures could rise meaning those on the TV undercard should be provided with a chance to impress a substantial audience.

Details of the card are set to be announced today. Frampton is expected to defend his WBO interim title versus Luke Jackson, there has been rumours of a World title tilt for Paddy Barnes, and there should also be undercard appearances for the likes of Luke Keeler and Stephen Ormond.

Others who could feature are Conrad Cummings, Tommy McCarthy, Steven Ward, and Lewis Crocker.

Speaking about the BT viewing figures for Fury’s return promoter Frank Warren said that “we are building something very special with BT Sport. We have had a combined attendance of 50,000 people across our last three events in Leeds, Belfast and Manchester; and everyone is delighted with the viewing figures from Saturday night which was by far the highest viewed fight on linear subscription TV in the UK this year.’

The Hall of Fame Promoter continued, noting how “across those three events we have also had three closely fought World level fights which have all delivered in terms of entertainment, in Selby v Warrington, Frampton v Donaire and Flanagan v Hooker, which is something we will continue to strive to do.”