Al Haymon continues his reign of network television time-buys and will now feature his new Premier Boxing Champions on CBS in conjunction with Showtime Sports starting on April 4.
Rumors of Haymon’s certain takeover of boxing on ESPN 2, resulting in the demise of the current format of Friday Night Fights, have been spreading like wildfire across social media this week, and now you can add CBS to the list.
The first card on April 4 will feature WBC Light Heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson against ex-Super Middleweight title holder Sakio Bika.
Also on the April 4 card will be Russian up-and-comer, Artur Beterbiev, matched up against contender, Gabriel Campillo.
Two other cards have also been confirmed. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. takes on Andrzej Fonfara on April 18 and then on May 9, Omar Figueroa will be going up against Scotland’s Ricky Burns.
In a release from CBS and Showtime, Showtime Sports’ executive vice-president and general manager Stephen Espinoza was quoted:
[otw_shortcode_quote border=”bordered” border_style=”bordered”]“The Premier Boxing Champions series on CBS will help usher in a new era in the storied history of boxing.”[/otw_shortcode_quote]
Espinoza has caught a lot of guff amongst boxing followers on social media lately who assumed Haymon had pulled the wool over his eyes and left him in the dark, but this new deal certainly shines a bright light on the future of boxing on CBS and Showtime itself.
Premier Boxing Champions premiers March 7 on NBC and will feature Adrien Broner vs. John Molina Jr. followed by the main event, Keith Thurman vs. Robert Guerrero.
Showtime will also be airing a doubleheader on March 28 featuring Jhonny Gonzalez vs. Gary Russell Jr. and Jermell Charlo vs. Vanes Martirosyan.
Follow RoundbyRoundboxing.com for future news and matchups.
