Showtime Championship Boxing

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Showtime Championship Boxing
ShowtimeChampionshipBoxing.svg
GenreSports, Boxing
Created byShowtime, and CBS Sports
Country of originUnited States
Production
Production companiesShowtime/The Movie Channel, Inc. (1986–1988)
Showtime Networks (1988–present)
DistributorShowtime Networks
Release
Original networkShowtime
Original releaseMarch 10, 1986 (1986-03-10) –
present
Chronology
Related showsShoBox: The New Generation

Showtime Championship Boxing is a television boxing program airing on Showtime. Debuting in March 1986, it is broadcast live on the first Saturday of every month. Showtime Championship Boxing, which is very similar to HBO World Championship Boxing, features Mauro Ranallo on play-by-play, Al Bernstein as the color analyst, Jimmy Lennon (Sr. and Jr.) as ring announcers, and Jim Gray as reporter.

A sister program, ShoBox: The New Generation, occasionally airs on Friday nights; these broadcasts feature fights between boxing prospects.

Notable fights[]

  • "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler defeated John "The Beast" Mugabi in an 11th-round knockout on the debut broadcast of Showtime Championship Boxing on March 10, 1986. On the same undercard, Gaby Canizales defeated Richie Sandoval (who subsequently almost died from the blows received in this bout) and Thomas Hearns defeated James Shuler, who died a week after this bout in a motorcycle accident.
  • Mike Tyson headlined multiple pay-per-view heavyweight fights, including:
  • Evander Holyfield also headlined:
  • Pernell Whitaker vs. Julio César Chávez
  • Nigel Benn defended his WBC Super-Middleweight title against Gerald McClellan in a dramatic fight that almost turned tragic by winning on a tenth-round technical knockout at London, England, on February 25, 1995. McClellan subsequently spent two months in a coma due to a massive brain injury and suffered blindness, impaired hearing, and inability to walk. Benn himself suffered from a broken nose and jaw, urinating blood and a shadow of a brain injury.[1]
  • Diego Corrales defeated José Luis Castillo for the WBC lightweight title in a 10th-round TKO on May 7, 2005. The fight is almost universally regarded as the best fight of 2005.
  • A ShoBox match between Sechew Powell and Cornelius Bundrage on May 6, 2005, featured an extremely rare double knockdown. Both threw simultaneous rights to the chin, although the referee didn't score any single knockdowns, possibly due to the shock of the occurrence.
  • A ShoBox match between Allan Green and Jaidon Codrington, on November 4, 2005, was won via a knockout by Green 18 seconds into the bout.[2] It was named the "Knockout of the Year" by The Ring.
  • The four fight series of Israel Vázquez and Rafael Márquez. Marquez won the first fight on March 3, 2007, after Vazquez couldn't continue after round 7. Vázquez would knock out Marquez in the sixth round of their second fight on August 4, 2007. This fight won Fight of the Year and Round of the Year (Round 3) honors for 2007 by The Ring. Their 3rd fight was considered to be the most exciting, which took place on March 1, 2008. Vazquez won the fight by split decision, after an incredible twelfth-round which saw Vázquez knock Márquez into the ropes, which prevented Marquez from hitting the canvas, resulting in a critical knockdown in the closing seconds of the fight. This fight was recognized as Fight of the Year for 2008 by Ring magazine as well. Marquez won their fourth fight by a third-round technical knockout.
  • Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley was aired on May 7, 2011.
  • Floyd Mayweather Jr. signed with Showtime in 2013. His fights comprise:
  • On June 25, 2016, sister network CBS broadcast a WBC welterweight championship fight between Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman, marking the first boxing event broadcast on CBS in primetime since 1978. The telecast, although part of the Premier Boxing Champions arrangement, was produced by Showtime and billed as Showtime Championship Boxing on CBS presented by Premier Boxing Champions.[3][4] Thurman retained the WBC title via a unanimous decision.[5]
  • On March 4, 2017, CBS aired Thurman's WBA/WBC welterweight unification bout against Danny García. Once again, the fight was broadcast in primetime as a Showtime presentation of Premier Boxing Champions. The fight, which Thurman won in a split decision, received a 2.2 Nielsen rating (a 22% gain over Thurman vs. Porter).[6][7][8][9]
  • On April 29, 2017, Showtime broadcast the Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko fight from Wembley Stadium in London to unify the WBA (Super), IBF and IBO heavyweight titles. Uniquely, both Showtime and HBO held rights to the fight, but only Showtime held rights to broadcast it live.[10]
  • On December 1, 2018, Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury was aired from Los Angeles.
  • On January 19, 2019, Manny Pacquiao vs. Adrien Broner was aired from Las Vegas.
  • On August 29, 2021 Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley, fight held in Cleveland which ultimately Paul won by split decision, later resulted in a rematch.
  • On November 6, 2021, Canelo Álvarez vs. Caleb Plant fight held in Las Vegas, when Canelo becomes the first-ever undisputed world super-middleweight champion.

Commentators[]

Brian Custer, currently serves as host of the program. The main broadcast team features Mauro Ranallo on blow-by-blow, Al Bernstein as chief color analyst and (when he is available) boxer Abner Mares as an analyst. Amir Khan, Austin Trout, and Daniel Jacobs have served as guest analysts. The third role was previously filled by Antonio Tarver, Ferdie Pacheco, Bobby Czyz, and Paulie Malignaggi among others. Veteran Jim Gray is chief reporter. Former top commentators include Steve Albert and Gus Johnson.

The New Generation features Barry Tompkins on blow-by-blow, and Steve Farhood and Raul Marquez as the expert analysts.

See also[]

  • Premier Boxing Champions

References[]

  1. ^ "Nigel Benn vs. Gerald McClellan". BoxRec.
  2. ^ "Green's quick KO is best of the year". ESPN.com. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  3. ^ "CBS Welcomes Boxing Back to Primetime". Sherdog. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Joshua-Breazeale on Showtime: CompuBox Historical Review". BoxingScene. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Keith Thurman edges Shawn Porter by unanimous decision, retains title". ESPN. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Thurman-Garcia does strong rating for CBS". Bad Left Hook (SBNation). Vox Media. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Thurman vs. Garcia on March 4 to be on CBS". The Ring. 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
  8. ^ "Keith Thurman vs. Danny Garcia to headline Showtime Boxing's return to CBS". CBS Sports. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  9. ^ "PBC Boxing: Keith Thurman vs. Danny Garcia live results, online discussion". Bloody Elbow (SBNation). Vox Media. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  10. ^ "HBO and Showtime will share April 29 Joshua-Klitschko heavyweight telecast". USA Today. Retrieved 1 May 2017.

External links[]

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