Lomachenko vs. Lopez Sets Up as One of ESPN's Biggest Boxing Productions of the Year In the latest of a series of Top Rank events in Vegas, ESPN continues to excel with bubbled crew By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Friday, October 16, 2020 - 2:18 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Since the start of the coronavirus-driven shutdown of live sports in March, boxing has been one of the live events that has helped ESPN get back on the air.
In fact, it was a Top Rank Boxing event in June that was the first on-site live production of a sporting event for the ESPN operations team post-COVID.
Now, following a series of successful fight nights over the summer in a COVID-safe bubble environment at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, ESPN is gearing up for a card on Saturday night that ESPN Senior Remote Operations Producer Lynne West calls the biggest fight we've had in the bubble so far and one of our bigger fights this year.
ESPN will broadcast the World Lightweight Championship from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday evening.
A card highlighted by the World Lightweight Championship between WBA, WBO, and The Ring lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko and IBF lightweight champion, Te fimo L pez (10 p.m. ET, ESPN) will get the big show treatment from ESPN this weekend.
The complement of production tools is impressive as ESPN has filled the MGM Grand Conference Center Grand Ballroom with more than 20 cameras, including two super slow-mos, two ringside handheld cameras (that have been moved off of their traditional position on the apron to standalone camera platforms to ensure safe social distancing), a roving RF handheld, a cabled roving handheld, an RF Steadicam, a jib, and numerous POVs throughout both the ballroom and the casino as a whole.
West noted that there's a heavy presence of RF in the facility as ESPN is choosing to use wireless technology to allow for easier and more comfortable execution of social distancing measures. For example, there's an expanded studio desk for pre- and post-fight programming to air from and announcers at that desk utilize wireless headsets so they don't feel tethered to a specific place and can remain safely apart from each other.
Also, on the audio front, ESPN will be placing microphones on each fighter's trainers throughout the fight card. Safety precautions have required the crew to overload on those tools, bringing in nearly 15 lavalier units. Those devices are placed in a UV locker to sanitize them after each use and are placed in a sealed plastic bag prior to distribution to anyone in a fighter's camp that might be wearing them during the broadcast.
In regards to the venue, the on-site ESPN crew which has included key contributions from VP of Production Mike McQuade and Remote Ops producers Meg Messmer and Mike Krivens has been making the most of a small space in this series of Top Rank events that have been hosted at the MGM Grand. Naturally, with no fans in attendance, the hotel's 17,000-seat arena is not being utilized as it would be in normal circumstances. Instead, ESPN and Top Rank have jacked up your standard hotel ballroom and turned into a high-energy fight fan's haven. Ten massive LED screens surrounding the ring to build a prize fight-like atmosphere for the fighters and spice up the space on screen for viewers at home.
This is such a large undertaking and it has been a huge success, says West. Everyone here is proud of what they're doing and Top Rank has been a phenomenal partner to us. It's been a positive experience in a very awkward time. So, if you have to do it, this is absolutely the best way to do it. We're all very proud of it.
ESPN's on-site operations team has also remained vigilant in regards to its safety precautions on site. There are three production trucks in the compound at the MGM Grand (NEP Broadcasting's NCP 10 A, B, and C units) largely to ensure that enough socially distancing can be safely made among the crew. That includes the front bench where director Aladdin Freeman, producer Jim Zirolli, and AD Michael Mascaro will call the shots during the live broadcast.
Back when the Top Rank series was at its peak and ESPN was producing two fight nights a week in June and July, a crew was set up in a bubble environment for more than seven weeks according to Manager, Remote Operations Kim Bloomstone. Since then, events have become more sporadic, but the commitment to following a COVID-safe bubble has been effective.
We haven't been loosening up on our protocols and we're proud of that because truthfully, I think that people feel safe, says Bloomstone. The crew feels safe. We talked about this again this week, we were talking about bringing the camera platforms a little bit closer to the ring. We've kind of eased back off on that again. We're going to keep them back where they are right now just to keep people safe and keep them back far enough away from anybody in the ring.
Bloomstone also praised West's dedication to her crew, shining a light on the extra mile she's gone to make the bubble an enjoyable experience for all involved behind the scenes.
We've been lucky to have her on this package this whole time, Bloomstone says, noting that West puts together activities for the bubbled crews ranging from pizza nights to football watch parties and cornhole tournaments in order to keep morale up. No one's asked her to do it, she does that all above and beyond on her own. I can't say enough about her commitment to this sport and our efforts out there. She's the glue that holds the crew together. We're very appreciative and I hope that the crew realizes how much she does for them.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's leading streaming television channels, at NAB 2026 will be launching new Studio services to help content ow...
07/04/2026
Ikegami USA has chosen NAB 2026 in Las Vegas as the launch platform for new additions to its range of broadcast-quality television production equipment. These w...
07/04/2026
April 19, 2026, Las Vegas Kiloview, an innovative provider of AV-over-IP technologies, will showcase its latest broadcast IP solutions at NAB 2026, presenting...
07/04/2026
Bitmovin has announced support for Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI) across its playback products using HLS interstitials, enabling more advanced ad-supported s...
07/04/2026
Synamedia is unveiling AI by Quortex at The NAB show, a just-in-time AI plugin framework that applies intelligence only when needed across video processing, dis...
07/04/2026
Cuez will showcase four additions to its cloud-based newsroom, rundown and automation platform at NAB Show 2026 (April 18 22, Las Vegas, Booth N1867):
Cuez ...
07/04/2026
CueScript to Showcase Innovations at NAB that Add Mobility Options, Ease Editing...
07/04/2026
Barix Extends Transport Options for Multi-Engine IP Encoder
Brie Clayton April 7, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB, Barix adds SRT and RIST support to Mult...
07/04/2026
Elite Media Technologies Selects Interra Systems' BATON File-Based QC Soluti...
07/04/2026
Tightrope Media Systems to Debut Cablecast LiveBridge for Simultaneous Streaming...
07/04/2026
Cuez Brings Four New Innovations to NAB 2026: From Story-Centric Newsroom to Ope...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Designed for synchronized multi-stream playback, low-latency delivery, and real-time analytics, MATCH introduces a unified viewing experience for sports broadca...
07/04/2026
Berklee Students to Honor George Martin with Performance of Original Scores The orchestra, led by associate professor Xander Rovang, will perform several work...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
Lomachenko vs. Lopez Sets Up as One of ESPN's Biggest Boxing Productions of the Year In the latest of a series of Top Rank events in Vegas, ESPN continues to excel with bubbled crew By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
