In a clever public relations move, HBO boxing is capitalizing on a long climb up to the fight tonight between Mayweather and Hatton. Running on the coat-tails of the immense popularity of Dancing With the Stars, HBO boxing is show-casing the darling of the boxers, Mayweather, in the match tonight. It's no secret that a huge percentage of women love the dancing show, and it's no secret that boxing promoters probably felt it would give them a great shot at increasing the viewing audience tonight by openly promoting the fight, and their prize fighter, on the extremely popular, prime time dancing show. In fact, there will probably be a lot of family members that tune into the scrap tonight that would never have had a clue as to who Mayweather was before seeing him on Dancing With the Stars--they wouldn't have known him from an obscure member of an Alaskan curling club team! So, with sharp, integrated marketing, HBO boxing hopes to draw a far larger crowd for their fight tonight. HBO boxing may just pull off a resurgence in boxing interest with its experiment in cross-interest marketing.
