Women's professional boxing is "still waiting for the kind of payday that comes with major television exposure," as the sport's biggest broadcasters -- namely HBO and Showtime -- have "been reluctant to air women's fight cards," according to Alex Raskin of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Showtime Sports Exec VP & GM Stephen Espinoza said, "Within the next six months, it's more likely than not that we figure out some way to do something meaningful in women's boxing." HBO said that it will be "paying attention." An HBO spokesperson in an email wrote, "We are monitoring the progress of women's boxing." Raskin notes Showtime in the past has shown "success with women's mixed martial arts." Raskin: "So why has women's boxing fallen behind?" Espinoza said, "You talk to the network executives, they'll say the promoters haven't even developed the sport as actively as they've supported the men, and therefore the talent isn't as widely available." Boxing promoter Lou DiBella said that others in his field have no "financial incentive to develop women until the premium cable networks begin broadcasting their fights." DiBella: "There is no gender gap. There's a ban on women. There is not a television network in the United States of America that is paying for a woman's fight" ( WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/7 ).
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