(Perhaps the most feared man in boxing pound for pound, Paul Williams headlines the return of boxing on Versus tonight)

Tonight on Versus at 8PM EST, the somewhat surprising relaunch of their boxing programming kicks off for the fall season. It is surprising in that it seemed likely at the onset of 2008 to not even happen. Versus’ boxing budget per show was 5 times that of what ESPN paid per event for their boxing programming, and yet they saw cards that were below par even for that network. Heavyweight fraud Tye Fields benefited most from the Versus exclusivity contract with Bob Arum, as well as the over the hill Hasim Rahman and potentially exposed Kid Diamond. Fans recieved piteously little. By all rights, Versus had every right to give up the ghost, particularly with WEC providing higher rated programming.

To the benefit of everyone, they did not go down that path. Instead, an experiment was hatched earlier this year at the end of the Top Rank contract. Over in Great Britain, Ricky Hatton was headlining a stadium show with the opener being Paulie Malignaggi, a former HBO and Showtime headliner himself. Without any dates for the event, HBO was unable to televise it, however Golden Boy Promotions was able to convince them and alternately Versus that showing the event would be in everyone’s best interest. To what extent it was a success is essentially unknown, but it must be assumed at this point that it was not a failure. Versus subsequently chose to pick up The Contender for a 4th season as well as the rights to Contender Muay Thai. More surprising than that was the additional decision to bring back semi-regular boxing programming on a card by card basis. The difference in talent has been immediately noticable.

The first event of the new era features a pair of fighters regularly highlighted by major boxing networks in bouts intended to highlight their abilities. Chris Arreola has become the top American heavyweight prospect in recent months, and most recently appeared on a well watched HBO program in June when he stopped Chazz Witherspoon in the third round. He has been given a cupcake of an opponent in Israel “King Kong” Garcia, a fighter who’s prospect status was dashed 7 years ago with a loss to Taurus Sykes.

Another bout that is admittedly not the most competitive on paper is the main event. Andy Kolle’s sole loss in 18 pro fights was to the US’ last Olympic Boxing gold medalist, Andre Ward. His journeyman qualities and glossy record have earned him a second fight, this time against a man regularly discussed even among casual boxing fans. Paul Williams has notched up wins against the likes of Antonio Margarito (a HBO main event), Carlos Quintana (both fights televised by Showtime), Sharmba Mitchell (another HBO main event) and numerous other B level fighters on TV. By far, the current WBO welterweight champion is the best fighter to compete for Versus in the network’s short history with the sport, and brings instant credibility to their programming.

The rest of the year shows a similar level of quality: Demetrius Andrade will coheadline the October 23rd show for Versus alongside a IBF Featherweight title bout between Orlando Salido and Cristobal Cruz. The November 13th show is being produced by the promoters behind The Contender, and features some of the biggest names from the series history, headlined by a fight between Sakio Bika and Peter Manfredo Jr. Rumor has it that the Ring and IBF Cruiserweight title bout between Steve Cunningham and Tomasz Adamek will be televised on the network as well.

The effect on boxing could be big. Should Versus continue along with their current approach, it gives added leverage to the HBOs and Showtimes of the world to no longer take fights that perhaps do not belong on the network (i.e.: Wladimir Klitschko/Ray Austin or Manfredo/Calzaghe) and use the money to provide more PPV level cards on free TV. Success with the retooled boxing approach could mean future changes to MMA programming as well. While the WEC has, in general, been a success, they’ve been completely unable to develop a major draw outside of Urijah Faber. Versus may look at the money they spend per event and reconsider possibly going to a system similar to their coverage of boxing or how HDNet has done business. The added income for mid level shows would be exceedingly valuable to a promotion such as EXC or Affliction, to say nothing about the TV time.

For now, it appears fans have something to cheer about in the immediate future. Hopefully the shift in policy carries over to a more long term change within the industry.