Wilder vs. Fury II: ESPN Takes Boxing Sound to a New Level for Unfinished Business ESPN will deploy dozens of mics around the venue, an overhead array of mini-shotguns By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Friday, February 21, 2020 - 2:46 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Boxing is as old school as sports gets now, and the sound for this weekend's Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury 2 - aka Unfinished Business - is equally hard-fisted, with tons of microphones strewn around and overhead in MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, NV, ready to pick up the punches and more.
The event will be broadcast on ESPN, which is doing the production, and Fox Sports (because the fighters' respective television rights are held by the two networks) and PPV. It will be bigger in scope than the regular Top Rank bouts on ESPN, according to A1 Tad Wimer.
We're following the same format that we use for the Top Rank events, but this is on a much larger scale, he says, noting that four production trucks, including NEP NCP-10 and ND-7, will be deployed, instead of the single unit used for most fights.
The Wilder vs. Tyson Fury II production comprises 35 cameras - more than ever deployed for an ESPN boxing production - including seven super-slow-motion and six robotic units, a 4D system that allows 360-degree replays, a mini Flycam, a JITA camera for unique shots, and bumper-corner cameras.
Mics Everywhere
Unfinished Business will have dozens of microphones distributed around the venue (most focused on the ring) and on all the referees for each of the six bouts on the card. Also, lavs are expected on the trainers.
ESPN will deploy its Tiffany mic array above the ring (seen here) to capture in-ring audio
Ringside A2 Lance Palmieri is running lavaliers' wires up from the ring pads to the bottom of the perimeter ropes, keeping the mics in place with red tape, angled at 90 degrees and pointed toward and about 2 ft. away from each fighter's corner, ready to pick up activity there should a trainer lav fail or not be available. These also eliminate the need for fishpoles over the ring.
Meanwhile, RFA2 Ben Sims and his colleagues will deploy dedicated wireless packs that will be taken to the various locker rooms to follow the sounds of fighter and trainers getting ready and then walking into the arena. A red and a blue pack will be used for opposing fighters for each bout.
But the crown jewel for the show will be the Tiffany array flown above the ring. It's a concoction comprising six Sennheiser 8060 mini-shotgun microphones, four facing outward to pick up ringside-crowd noise and two facing directly downward and processed to avoid phase problems. These pick up most of the footwork and punches - 99.5% of that, Wimer estimates. Normally placed 9.5 ft. above the ring, for this fight, the array has been moved a full foot higher.
These fighters are tall and have really long arms, Wimer explains. (Wilder is 6 ft. 7 in. with an 83-in. reach; Fury stands 6 ft. 9 in. with an 85-in. reach.) The array gives us very direct audio, up close and personal. It really works great.
Other microphones are located on a robo cam in the far neutral corner and in the far corners of the arena to get the sounds from the floor seats, fans whom Wimer calls the most rambunctious and who provide high levels of enthusiasm.
Wideband Wireless
There'll be plenty of RF for the fight. RFA2 Jordan Smith supervises the Shure Axient wireless system, the G57 version for wideband applications. In addition, Riedel Bolero is used for wireless comms in an AES67 mode.
ESPN will deploy one of its most complex boxing productions ever for Wilder-Fury II on Saturday
That clears up a lot of frequencies used for base-station transmit, he says. We also use [spectrum analyzer] Signal Hound to police the arena several times a day looking for any rogue frequencies.
An RTS VoIP system is used for wired intercoms, all on a Dante network like much of the rest of the wired audio. RVON panels are placed throughout the arena and on the trucks and are used to communicate cues for the walk-on music and dramatic lighting that make the fight into a spectacle.
When we do comms for most of these [fights], we are covering the event, says comms A2 Eric Williams. For this fight, we are part of the event. We're literally putting on the show. For instance, they have to wait for our call before a fighter walks out. We coordinate the lights and the music from the DJ. It all has to be synchronized. It has to be a well-oiled machine.
Unfinished Business is going to be an old-school broadcast blockbuster thanks to a great team, says Kim Bloomstone, remote operations manager, ESPN.
We worked hard to get the right people into place, and they are doing a great job, she says. We're looking forward to a great event.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
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...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
07/05/2026
Strategic three-year partnership marks delivery phase of BFBS' next-generation media vision
Media organisation and military charity BFBS (British Forces Br...
07/05/2026
Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering v...
07/05/2026
Lightware Visual Engineering has developed Rack Taurus for rack-based environments such as education and corporate training spaces. It enables clean and simple ...
07/05/2026
Jigsaw24, the UK's leading media equipment supplier and systems integrator, will showcase its expanded end-to-end workflow capabilities at MPTS 2026, signal...
07/05/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company, today announced that it has been granted a US Patent for its proprietary graphical overlay technology, the foundation for interact...
07/05/2026
Test & measurement innovator Leader Electronics of Europe will present an extensive range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement solutions at...
Wilder vs. Fury II: ESPN Takes Boxing Sound to a New Level for Unfinished Business ESPN will deploy dozens of mics around the venue, an overhead array of mini-shotguns By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
