SHOWTIME Sports on Friday announced seven live boxing telecasts over a 12-week span, a stacked lineup featuring nine world championship fights and 14 overall matches in boxing’s deepest and most exciting divisions.
The full slate of programming is free to SHOWTIME subscribers, and the presentation on CBS is the first Prime Time boxing event on CBS television network in decades.
Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President & General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports, also announced a summer blockbuster in the making.
“This is an incredibly exciting time in boxing, a time for emerging stars to make their mark, and for established champions to break through to the next level,” Espinoza said.
“This schedule features high level matchups with champions taking on the highest-rated contenders available, and top-ranked challengers facing one another. We are thrilled and grateful to the promoters and the fighters themselves who have worked with us these last few weeks to put together such an impressive lineup for SHOWTIME Boxing. It has to be one of the best we’ve ever assembled.
“We have seven live telecasts over a 12-week span that runs the gamut of our SHOWTIME boxing series. It includes nine world title fights, and that doesn’t count a great fight that’s just coming together today, as both Leo Santa Cruz and Carl Frampton have now agreed to a championship matchup to be scheduled for late summer.
“All of these events are free to SHOWTIME subscribers, and the June 25 event is the first Prime Time boxing presentation on CBS television network in decades.
“Again, thanks to the fighters and promoters for not only making these great matches a reality, but for their cooperation in today’s major announcement.”
See below for details on the events that Espinoza, and the principals involved, are in the process of finalizing. Additional details on each individual event will be announced in the coming days.
Saturday, April 9 – SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL
Main Event: Charles Martin (23-0-1, 21 KOs) vs. Anthony Joshua (15-0, 15 KOs) – IBF Heavyweight World Title Championship
Co-feature: Lee Selby (22-1, 8 KOs) vs. Eric Hunter (21-3, 11 KOs) – IBF Featherweight Championship
Start Time: TBD
Venue: The O2 – London
Promoter: Warriors Boxing & Matchroom Sport
Friday, April 15 – ShoBox: The New Generation
Main Event: Nikolay Potapov (14-0, 6 KOs) vs. Stephon Young (14-0-2, 6 KOs) – 10-Rd Bantamweight Bout
Start Time: 10 p.m. ET/PT
Venue: Turning Stone Casino – Verona, NY
Promoter: Salita Promotions
• Four-fight telecast featuring at least six undefeated fighters.
Saturday, April 16 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
Main Event: Gary Russell Jr. (26-1, 15 KOs) vs. Patrick Hyland (31-1, 15 KOs) – WBC Featherweight World Championship
Co-Feature: Jose Pedraza (21-0, 12 KOs) vs. Stephen Smith (23-1, 13 KOs) – IBF Super Featherweight World Championship
Start Time: 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT
Venue: Fox Theatre at Foxwoods Resort Casino
Promoter: DiBella Entertainment
• Featherweight world title fights in consecutive weeks.
• Gary Russell Jr. returns to make his first title defense
• Crucial Super Featherweight bout between defending champ Jose Pedraza and No. 1 challenger Stephen Smith.
Saturday, April 30 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
Main Event: Badou Jack (20-1-1, 12 KOs) vs. Lucian Bute (32-3, 25 KOs) – WBC Super Middleweight Championship
Co-Feature: James DeGale (22-1, 14 KOs) vs. Rogelio Medina (35-6, 29 KOs) – IBF Super Middleweight World Championship
Start Time: 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
Venue: TBD
Promoter: Mayweather Promotions
• Former champ Bute, fresh off a great fight against DeGale, steps in to replace the injured Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
• Medina is the IBF’s mandated challenger for DeGale.
• The winners will meet in an immediate unification.
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING – PENDING CONFIRMATION
Main Event: Deontay Wilder (36-0, 35 KOs) vs. Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22 KOs) – WBC Heavyweight World Championship
Start Time: TBD
Venue: TBD
Saturday, June 11 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
Main Event: Ruslan Provodnikov (25-4, 18 KOs) vs. John Molina Jr. (28-6, 23 KOs) – 12-Rd Super Lightweight Bout
Start Time: 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT
Venue: Turning Stone Casino – Verona, NY
Promoter: Banner Promotions
• Induction Weekend for International Boxing Hall of Fame.
• Main event features two fighters involved in Fights of Year
Saturday, June 25 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on CBS Presented by PBC
Main Event: Keith Thurman (26-0, 1 ND, 22 KOs) vs. Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs) – WBA Welterweight World Championship
Co-Feature: Jesus Cuellar (28-1, 21 KOs) vs. Abner Mares (29-2-1, 15 KOs) – WBA (reg.) Featherweight World Championship
Start Time: TBD
Venue: TBD
Promoter: DiBella Entertainment
• Thurman cleared to resume training after minor injury
• Three-division world champ Mares to now face Jesus Cuellar for featherweight title
Late-Summer 2016 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
Main Event: Leo Santa Cruz (32-0-1, 18 KOs) vs. Carl Frampton (22-0, 14 KOs) – WBA (super) Featherweight World Championship
• Frampton the unified 122-pound titlist, will move up to face Santa Cruz for the WBA (super) Featherweight World Championship
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.
