Marysol Castro Joins ESPN as Host of Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN
Todd Grisham and Bernardo Osuna to Serve as Reporters
Nigel Collins to Provide Social Media Content, Insight and Analysis
Noche de Combates’ Team of Commentators to Lead PBC’s Coverage on ESPN Deportes
Marysol Castro has joined ESPN as host of Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN (PBC on ESPN) and will make her debut when the series premieres live in prime time Saturday, July 11, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. Castro, who will be on site for all PBC on ESPN fights, will also serve as a reporter on ESPN’s Little League World Series telecasts.
“Marysol has an energetic presence and is intelligent and versatile,” said ESPN senior coordinating producer Matt Sandulli. “Adding a professional with her vast experience will make our presentation even more valuable to the viewers.”
Castro said, “It is a privilege to work for the worldwide leader in sports, ESPN. I’m extremely excited to be a part of such an energetic, smart and fun team. My years at network news, my love of sports and experience as an athlete have prepared me for this next chapter in my professional life. I look forward to bringing boxing back to the forefront of sports and since I never did get to play for the Yankees, covering Little League is the next best thing.”
Castro most recently worked as a news anchor at WPIX in New York. Prior to that, she had on-air roles on two different national morning shows—“The Early Show” on CBS and ABC’s Good Morning America.
PBC on ESPN Commentators:
Castro joins an all-star PBC on ESPN commentator roster. As previously announced, blow-by-blow commentator Joe Tessitore and analyst Teddy Atlas—both recipients of the prestigious Sam Taub Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism presented by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA)—will call PBC on ESPN fights ringside.
“There is no more credible boxing team in the business than Joe and Teddy,” said Sandulli. “They have provided viewers with insightful and entertaining commentary for years on Friday Night Fights and now they get to do it with higher profile fights.”
Additionally, ESPN’s Todd Grisham and Bernardo Osuna will serve as PBC on ESPN reporters. Both provided commentary for Friday Night Fights—Grisham as studio host and Osuna as reporter. Hall-of-Fame boxing writer and ESPN boxing contributor Nigel Collins will provide social media content, insight and analysis.
ESPN Deportes Commentators:
ESPN Deportes commentators Pablo Viruega and Delvin Rodríguez will call PBC on ESPN fights as part of the network’s Noche de Combates series, while Leopoldo González and Claudia Trejos will co-host the show. Bilingual reporter Osuna will also contribute, providing live reports and interviews. Additionally, Hall-of-Fame boxing referee and analyst Joe Cortez will join the show on a regular basis.
The first live PBC on ESPN telecast, from the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla., will feature a star-studded 12-round welterweight matchup between undefeated Keith “One Time” Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs) and Luis Collazo (36-6, 19 KOs). The opening fight will showcase a 10-round junior middleweight matchup between undefeated Tony Harrison (21-0, 18 KOs) and Willie Nelson (23-2-1, 13 KOs). ESPN3 will also carry live the preliminary bouts at a time to be determined. The card will be held in Tampa, Fla., at a site to be named.
In March, ESPN announced a multi-year agreement, to televise Premier Boxing Champions, a series created for television by Haymon Boxing, featuring top-level fights between many of boxing’s biggest names. PBC on ESPN will air 12, two-hour live shows annually on ESPN and ABC. ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s Spanish-language network, will also televise all PBC on ESPN fights as part of its Noche de Combates series and ESPN International will present coverage across its networks in Latin America, Brazil, the Caribbean and Pacific Rim. Live coverage will also be available through WatchESPN on computers, smartphones, tablets, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One via an affiliated video provider.
Blow-by-blow commentator Joe Tessitore and analyst Teddy Atlas, both recipients of the prestigious Sam Taub Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism presented by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), will call the fights ringside on ESPN and ABC. Additional on-air commentators will be announced at a later date.
Florida’s Thurman—who is widely regarded to be the heir apparent in the division when Floyd Mayweather retires—is coming off a unanimous decision win against welterweight contender Robert Guerrero, while New York’s Collazo is looking to score another victory following a second-round TKO win over Christopher Degollado. Harrison, fighting out of Detroit, scored a third-round TKO win over Pablo Munguia in his last fight, while Cleveland’s Nelson is looking to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Vanes Martirosyan.
Upcoming PBC on ESPN Schedule:
| Date | Time (ET) | Featured Bouts | Location | Networks |
| Sat, July 11 | 9 p.m. | Keith Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs) vs. Luis Collazo (36-6, 19 KOs)—12 rounds, Welterweight Tony Harrison (21-0, 18 KOs) vs. Willie Nelson (23-2-1, 13 KOs)—10 rounds, Junior Middleweight | USF Sun Dome,Tampa, Fla. | ESPN,
ESPNDeportes, WatchESPN |
| Sat, Aug. 1 | 9 p.m. |
Danny Garcia (30-0, 17 KOs) vs. Paulie Malignaggi (33-6, 7 KOs)—12 rounds, Welterweight Daniel Jacobs (29-1, 26 KOs) vs. Sergio Mora (28-3-2, 9 KOs)—12 rounds, Middleweight |
Barclays Center,Brooklyn, N.Y. | ESPN,
ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN |
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.
