Andy Lee the most watched boxer in America since Oscar de la Hoya in 1998

The next Golden Boy?

Andy Lee's split decision draw over Peter Quillin, on Saturday night at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, raked in 2.9 million viewers for NBC. The fight, which was not for the world title due to Quillin missing the weight, went the distance and no winner was declared as judges opted for Lee, Quillin and 'tie'. The bout itself was a humdinger, as Lee hit the canvas twice before recovering to knock Quillin down for the first time in his career. It was the second NBC prime-time airing of 'Premier Boxing Champions' and also featured Danny Garcia’s majority-decision win against Lamont Peterson. The Lee-Quillin fight drew in 2.9 million viewers. NBC are claiming that the viewership figure is the highest amount since Oscar de la Hoya fought in March 1998 on Fox. Viewing figures peaked at 3.4m during the final round of Garcia-Peterson and a March 7, also on NBC, between Keith Thurman and Robert Guerrero, but the Lee fight-night had a higher overall average, suggesting a strong card with a couple of big-name draws. NBC said that viewership increased every half hour throughout the 2½-hour telecast and peaked in the final half hour between 10:30 and 11 p.m. ET with more than 3.4 million viewers during the final round of Garcia-Peterson. The figures are so high due to the fact that NBC is showing Premier Boxing Champions free-to-air.