NEW YORK (March 10, 2012) – SHOWTIME® Sports kicks off its early spring boxing schedule with a rematch of one of last year’s most shocking upsets and wraps it up with another rematch that promises to be one of the year’s most exciting fights.
Tonight, March 10, World Boxing Organization (WBO) Featherweight World Champion Orlando “Siri” Salido (37-11-2, 25 KOs), of México, will defend his title against the man he dethroned, former world champ Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez (31-1, 28 KOs), of Puerto Rico, in the main event on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast), from Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In Saturday’s 10-round co-feature on SHOWTIME, undefeated No. 1 featherweight contender Mikey Garcia (27-0, 23 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., will face former featherweight title challenger Bernabe Concepcion (31-4-1, 17 KOs), of Metro Manila, The Philippines.
On Friday, March 16, ShoBox: The New Generation returns with a doubleheader from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. In the 10-round main event, unbeaten lightweight Omar Figueroa (14-0, 11 KOs), of Weslaco, Texas, meets Ramon Ayala (23-2, 11 KOs), of Mexico. Super bantamweights Randy Caballero (13-0, 7 KOs), of Coachella, Calif., and Jose Luis Araiza (29-5, 20 KOs), of Mexico, will mix it up in the 10-round co-feature.
On the Friday, March 23 edition of ShoBox, unbeaten sensation Diego Magdaleno (21-0, 7 KOs), of Las Vegas, returns in a 10-round super featherweight bout against an opponent to be named. In the co-feature, undefeated junior welterweight prospects Yordenis Ugas (11-0, 5 KOs), of Cuba, and Johnny Garcia (11-0, 8 KOs), of Holland, Mich., will square off in an eight-rounder from Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Ariz.
Then, on Saturday, April 21, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING (9 p.m. ET/PT), former bantamweight world champ Abner Mares (23-0-1, 13 KOs), of Hawaiian Gardens, Calif. by way of Guadalajara, Mexico, will make his super bantamweight debut against former flyweight kingpin Eric Morel (46-2, 23 KOs), of Madison, Wisc., by way of San Juan, Puerto Rico, in a 12-round bout. The telecast will also include a 12-round WBA Bantamweight Super Championship fight between champ Anselmo Moreno (31-2-1, 11 Kos) of Panama City, Panama, against Tijuana’s David De La Mora (24-1, 17 KOs). Plus, preliminary bouts will be televised live on SHOWTIME EXTREME.
STRIKEFORCE mixed martial arts returns to the network on Saturday, May 19, with the championship fight in the STRIKEFORCE World Grand Prix – Heavyweight Tournament. The final will match Josh Barnett (36-5), of Seattle, Wash., against Daniel Cormier (9-0), of San Jose, Calif. A full card, complete with preliminary fights on SHOWTIME EXTREME, will be announced by STRIKEFORCE in the coming weeks.
The following Saturday, May 26, former undisputed light heavyweight champ Antonio Tarver (29-6, 26 KOs), of Tampa, Fla., will face a top cruiserweight prospect he critiqued while serving as expert analyst on ShoBox, Lateef Kayode (18-0, 14 KOs), of Los Angeles, in the 12-round main event.
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING will wrap up its spring schedule the way it started it – with a sensational and highly anticipated rematch between two of boxing’s most talented and exciting fighters. Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KOs), of Ventura, Calif., will try to rebound from his loss to pound-for-pound champ Floyd Mayweather while Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KOs), of Winter Haven, Fla., will look to avenge the only loss of his career when the two square off in a 12-round welterweight bout on Saturday, June 23. In the co-feature, veterans Humberto Soto (54-7-1, 34 KOs), of Los Mochis, Mexico, and Lucas Matthysse (30-2, 28 KOs), of Trelew, Argentina, will square off in a junior welterweight bout. Plus, additional preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME.
For information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please visit the website at http://sports.SHO.com.
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Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
