SHOWTIME SPORTS® UNVEILS FULL SPRING BOXING SCHEDULE, HEADLINED BY LIVE TELECAST OF HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT: JOSHUA vs. KLITSCHKO
SHOWTIME® To Present Seven World Championship Fights Across Seven Live Telecasts In Eight Weeks
NEW YORK (April 17, 2017) – SHOWTIME Sports has unveiled the network’s complete spring 2017 boxing schedule following today’s earlier announcement that the heavyweight boxing event of the year will be televised live on SHOWTIME.
The stacked lineup includes seven world championship fights across eight live boxing telecasts over an eight-week span.
On Saturday, April 29, Anthony Joshua will face Wladimir Klitschko in the most significant heavyweight world championship fight in more than a decade. The event will air live on SHOWTIME at 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT from a sold-out Wembley Stadium, where a record crowd of more than 90,000 spectators is expected.
Also announced today, SHOWTIME and Premier Boxing Champions will present the rematch between WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Adonis Stevenson and Andrzej Fonfara on Saturday, June 3. This bout is an encore of a 2014 action-packed fight in which Stevenson edged Fonfara to defend his 175-pound crown.
The SHOWTIME boxing lineup also includes two significant welterweight bouts with world title implications: Andre Berto vs. Shawn Porter (April 22) and Kell Brook vs. Errol Spence Jr. (May 27). Both events are presented in association with Premier Boxing Champions. The April 22 Berto vs. Porter event will feature an anticipated 154-pound world title fight between Jermell Charlo and Charles Hatley as well as world champion Amanda Serrano attempting to become the first woman—and first fighter of Puerto Rican decent—to win a world title in five different weight classes.
On Saturday, May 20, SHOWTIME will present a unique twin-bill of world championship fights. First, boxing’s hottest young star, newly minted world champion Gervonta Davis, will make his first world title defense against Liam Walsh from London. Later that evening, featherweight world champion Gary Russell Jr. and former world champion Andre Dirrell will be featured in separate bouts. Start times for both live telecasts are to be determined.
In all, SHOWTIME Sports will present one live SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL telecast, one live ShoBox: The New Generation telecast, and five SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts, all free to network subscribers. Plus, SHOWTIME is in the early stages of planning for the return of four-division world champion Adrien Broner and undefeated star Mikey Garcia in separate events this summer.
The spring lineup complements the network’s robust 2017 boxing schedule. In the first 10 weeks of the year, SHOWTIME Sports presented eight world championship fights, including two world title unification bouts (Jack vs. DeGale and Thurman vs. Garcia, SHOWTIME Boxing on CBS), two world title rematches (Frampton vs. Santa Cruz II and Linares vs. Crolla II), the live-stream of the first-ever boxing event on Twitter (Broner vs. Granados), the resurgence of women’s boxing (Serrano vs. Rivas) and the first women’s boxing main event in premium television history (Shields vs. Szabados).
“SHOWTIME continues its unrivaled commitment to the sport. There simply is no other network in boxing delivering world-class events on a consistent basis,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President & General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports.
“Our 2017 schedule already includes some 17 live boxing telecasts, 15 world championship fights, with the top-rated fighters squaring off in boxing’s deepest weight divisions. We continue to break the glass ceiling on women’s boxing, deliver the biggest bouts from overseas and see champions take on champions to unify divisions. We are proud to be re-shaping the boxing landscape both in and out of the ring.”
See below for the SHOWTIME boxing spring calendar. This is the network’s third major boxing schedule announcement of the past 13 months.
Saturday, April 22 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Presented by Premier Boxing Champions Main Event: Andre Berto (31-4, 24 KOs) vs. Shawn Porter (26-2, 16 KOs) – WBC Welterweight World Title Eliminator
Co-Feature: Jermell Charlo (28-0, 13 KOs) vs. Charles Hatley (26-1-1, 18 KOs) – WBC Super Welterweight World Championship
SHOX: Amanda Serrano (31-1-1, 23 KOs) vs. Dahiana Santana (35-8, 14 KO’s) – 10-Rd. WBO Bantamweight World Championship
Start Time: 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT (SHO Boxing on SHO EXTREME, 7:30p ET/PT) Venue: Brooklyn’s Barclays Center Notes: · The winner of Berto-Porter becomes the WBC mandatory challenger to Unified World Champion Keith Thurman. · Berto-Porter is the fourth welterweight world title/title eliminator fight televised on SHOWTIME/CBS in the last 10 months. · Charlo-Hatley is the eighth world title/title eliminator in the 154-pound division on SHOWTIME/CBS in the last 13 months · Serrano attempts to become the first woman to win world titles in five different weight classes
Saturday, April 29 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Main Event: Anthony Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) vs. Wladimir Klitschko (64-4, 53 KOs) – IBF and vacant (Super) WBA Heavyweight World Championship
Start Time: 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT, live on SHOWTIME Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Notes: · Most significant heavyweight world title fight in 15 years—since Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson in June, 2002 · Officially sold out more than 90,000 tickets; set to smash the attendance record at Wembley and join the ranks of the biggest events in boxing history
Saturday, May 20 – SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL Main Event: Gervonta Davis (17-0, 16 KOs) vs. Liam Walsh (21-0, 14 KOs) – IBF Super Featherweight World Championship
Start Time: TBD, live from London Venue: Copper Box Arena in London, England Notes: · Matchup of undefeated fighters. Champion vs. No. 1-ranked contender · Davis is the youngest reigning American titlist and second youngest in the world (Kosei Tanaka)
Saturday, May 20 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Main Event: Gary Russell Jr. (21-1, 16 KOs) vs. Oscar Escandon (25-2, 17 KOs) – WBC Featherweight World Championship
Co-Features: Andre Dirrell (25-2, 16 KOs) vs. José Uzcátegui (26-1, 22 KOs) – IBF Super Middleweight Interim World Championship
Rances Barthelemy (25-0, 13 KOs) vs. Kiryl Relikh (21-1, 19 KOs) – WBA Super Lightweight Eliminator
Start Time: TBD
Venue: MGM National Harbor in Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area
Notes: · Sixth featherweight title fight on SHOWTIME since Feb. 2016, and second this year.
· The winner of Dirrell-Uzcátegui becomes the mandatory for IBF Super Middleweight World Champion James DeGale
· The winner of Barthelemy-Relikh becomes the mandatory challenger to WBA Super Lightweight Champion Ricky Burns
Saturday, May 27 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Main Event: Kell Brook (36-1, 25 KOs) vs. Errol Spence Jr. (21-0, 19 KOs) – IBF Welterweight World Championship
Start Time: TBD, live from England Venue: Bramall Lane Football Ground in Sheffield, England Notes: · World Champion vs. IBF No. 1-ranked contender · No. 3-ranked vs. No. 5-ranked welterweights (via Transnational Boxing Rankings)
· Six of the consensus top-10 welterweights in the world featured on SHOWTIME/CBS events in the first half of 2017
Saturday, June 3 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Presented by Premier Boxing Champions Main Event: Adonis Stevenson (28-1, 23 KOs) vs. Andrzej Fonfara (29-4, 17 KOs) II – WBC Light Heavyweight World Championship
Co-Main: Eleider Alvarez (22-0, 11 KOs) vs. Jean Pascal (31-4-1, 18 KOs) – WBC Silver Light Heavyweight Title
Start Time: TBD
Notes: · Stevenson-Fonfara II is a rematch of 2014 all-action championship bout in which both fighters scored knock downs
Friday, June 9 – ShoBox: The New Generation (Hall of Fame Induction Weekend) Main Event: Joel Diaz Jr. (23-0, 19 KOs) vs. Abel Ramos (17-2-2, 12 KOs) – 10 Round Super Lightweight Bout
Start Time: 10 p.m. ET/PT
Venue: Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, N.Y.
Notes: · International Boxing Hall of Fame Induction Weekend · The lead announce team for ShoBox, legendary sportscaster Barry Tompkins and boxing historian Steve Farhood, to be inducted to the Hall in nearby Canastota, NY.
Expected This Summer Four-division world champion Adrien Broner and WBC Lightweight World Champion Mikey Garcia in separate events live on SHOWTIME.
