WHAT. A. KNOCKOUT. –Sporting News
While Sporting News’ Joe Rivera was writing about Jermell Charlo’s vicious knockout of Charles Hatley in April, he may have been writing about Anthony Joshua’s comeback KO over Wladimir Klitschko or Mikey Garcia’s brutal knockout of Dejan Zlaticanin, or Deontay Wilder’s KO1 over Bermane Stiverne. Proverbially, Rivera might as well have been writing about the entire year in boxing.
There literally were dozens of such lines written by you and your colleagues throughout the year as the sweet science demonstrated that at its best it entertains like no other sport in history. SHOWTIME led the way in 2017 with the industry’s strongest commitment:
– 25 nights of live boxing – 33 World Championship fights – 71 live fights in all… each of these totals are far more than any other network.
In coverage of the epic Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko bout in April, The New Yorker wrote, “It was also broadcast live on Showtime—which has replaced HBO as the premier boxing network…”
As 2017 winds down, SHOWTIME has released its full boxing programming slate from this memorable year. See below for complete details. Also below, please find an in-depth recap of SHOWTIME Boxing in 2017. Included are several interesting facts and figures as well as details about our efforts to steward the sport in its renaissance. Please take a close look at your convenience and let us know if you’d like to dig deeper.
Our warmest wishes to you and yours for a peaceful holiday season. Thank you for your support of SHOWTIME Sports and for your work in boxing as together we continue to revitalize the modern era.
Sincerely,
Chris, Matt, Flo, Madelyn and all of us at SHOWTIME Sports
2017 COMMITMENT TO BOXING
In 2017, SHOWTIME delivered 25 nights of live boxing, averaging more than two events per month. SHOWTIME Sports produced 33 world championship fights, 71 live bouts in total, far more than any other network. SHOWTIME produced nearly a dozen bouts pitting a top-10 ranked champion versus a top-10 challenger including four world championship rematches and three world title unifications.
The high stakes yielded high drama and the results were contagious as boxing’s best continued to take on their toughest challengers all year long. The elite level of competition has helped end the notion that the best fights somehow cannot be made.
SHOWTIME continues to deliver competitive, meaningful battles in boxing’s deepest divisions:
– Six of the top-ranked featherweights have fought on SHOWTIME in the past two years including all of the top-five. Santa Cruz, Frampton, Mares, Selby, Russell.
– There has been a virtual tournament at welterweight on SHOWTIME with six of the top-eight ranked fighters competing regularly and against each other on the network. Plus, the most watched bout of the year was SHOWTIME Boxing on CBS: Keith Thurman vs. Danny Garcia which garnered the largest audience for a primetime boxing broadcast since 1998. Thurman, Spence, Danny Garcia, Porter, Brook.
– Eight of the top-10 ranked super welterweight/jr middleweight champions and challengers fought on SHOWTIME in 2017 including all of the top-five ranked men. Lara, Jermell Charlo, Hurd, Trout, Lubin.
– At heavyweight, SHOWTIME has televised 10 world championship fights in the past three years, more than any other entity in boxing. Wilder, Joshua, Klitschko, Miller.
Further, SHOWTIME helped pave the way for a resurgence in women’s boxing having televised the first female world title fight in nearly a decade (English Language TV) and later delivering the first women’s boxing main event in premium television history.
SHOWTIME leads the industry in live streaming. SHOWTIME is the first and only network to deliver two heavyweight world title fights live on YouTube with Wilder-Szpilka, Martin-Glazkov, in 2016. In 2017, the network live streamed four world-class boxing events including the first on Twitter (Broner-Granados, Feb. 18) and last Saturday’s championship doubleheader from London.
In all, SHOWTIME Sports offered more than 50 live streams from companion events (press conferences, weigh-ins, interviews) highlighted by those from Mayweather vs. McGregor which have been viewed more than 21 million times… and still counting!
SHOWTIME Sports digital team continues to innovate by producing exclusive online features, helping to illustrate boxing’s richest storylines. Click through to sample these digital series.
– FIGHT NIGHT: An intimate portrait of a fighter during his or her seminal moment. – MUSIC/ENTERTAINMENT: Unique partnerships with music and entertainment giants to expand the reach of the SHOWTIME Boxing brand. – SPOTIFY: Playlists that bring fans closer to the music that fuels fighters in camp and in the ring. – RING RESUME: Highlights and analysis of the key bouts in a fighter’s career thus far. Written and curated by Steve Farhood. – THE REVEAL: In-depth, intimate interviews with today’s champions.
SHOWTIME has delivered the defining moments thus far of the brightest new stars in boxing—Errol Spence Jr., Gervonta Davis, Claressa Shields, David Benavidez and more.
ShoBox: The New Generation heads into its 18th year as the series continues to deliver on its promise to test the best young talent in boxing. With nine telecasts, 28 bouts in all, ShoBox featured Shields, Regis Prograis, Dmitry Bivol and Ivan Baranchyk in 2017. Also this year, seven fighters including Jarrett Hurd, Spence, Shields and Benavidez earned their first world titles and joined the ever-growing list of ShoBox alumni and alumnae to capture a world championship—now at an incredible 74 champions.
2017 SHOWTIME BOXING ON DEMAND For the first time, SHOWTIME has released the entire year’s boxing programming slate. All SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, ShoBox: The New Generation, SHOWTIME Boxing: Special Edition and SHOWTIME Boxing International telecasts—along with the SHOWTIME PPV presentation of Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor—are available now on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND, SHOWTIME ANYTIME and the SHOWTIME streaming service. Plus, we’ve scheduled a five-night boxing marathon beginning this Monday, Dec. 18, with the presumptive favorite for Fight of the Year—Joshua vs. Klitschko—and continuing nightly at 10p ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME. See below for a complete scheduled.
SHOWTIME BOXING MARATHON ON SHOWTIME EXTREME Monday, December 18, 2017 10:00pm Joshua vs. Klitschko (SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING) 11:00pm Thurman vs. Garcia (SHOWTIME BOXING ON CBS)
Tuesday, December 19, 2017 10:00pm Jack vs. DeGale (SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING)
Wednesday, December 20, 2017 10:00pm Mayweather vs. McGregor (SHOWTIME PPV) 11:00pm ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. McGregor – Epilogue 11:30pm Santa Cruz vs. Frampton II (SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING)
Thursday, December 21, 2017 10:00pm Brook vs. Spence (SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING)
Friday, December 22, 2017 10:00pm Broner vs. Garcia (SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING)
And there is more to come from SHOWTIME Sports. Stephen Espinoza is currently working on a robust boxing schedule for 2018. You can expect an announcement shortly after the New Year with SHOWTIME continuing to deliver on its promise to televise the biggest events and the most compelling matchups in boxing’s deepest divisions.
