Respected HBO boxing analyst Jim Lampley disagrees, asserting that "black American boxers are no longer as dominant because of the global rise of others".

BBC: US boxing faces up to change

"We're not only the largest pay-per-view provider in the United States beating HBO Boxing and the WWE but we're also one of the highest-rated television shows on cable, " White says.

NPR: Mixed Martial Arts: Sport or Spectacle?

Showtime is poised to make an even bigger push into boxing after HBO announced last month that it would no longer hire fighters from Golden Boy, which is the biggest promoter in boxing.

FORBES: Showtime Kicks Off Floyd Mayweather Month With '30 Days In May'

Since 2006, the number of households paying to watch UFC fights has exceeded 700, 000 at least 17 times, compared with 13 times for HBO's pay-per-view boxing matches.

WSJ: Say Goodbye to Boxing Judges

Boxing has averaged 3 million viewers on regular HBO this year, a small increase from 2008.

FORBES: Boxing

"We're bringing boxing back to its roots, " says HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg, who favors a return to a 1980s model where only big fights featuring the likes of Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard were deemed worthy of closed-circuit status (closed-circuit theater and arena telecasts being the forerunner of today's pay-per-view).

FORBES: Boxing