Showtime unveils video promo of 2020 upcoming fights

Earlier on Wednesday, Showtime premium cable in the U.S. in conjunction with their rights deal with Premier Boxing Champions unveiled their return to broadcasting fights beginning next month. This will include two Pay per View broadcasts involving a doubleheader with the World Champion twins Jermall and Jermell Charlo and then, a Lightweight showdown between Gervonta Davis and Leo Santa Cruz.

The network also released a stirring promotional video listing all of the fights that will begin on August 1st and last though the end of December. Check out “Big Time Boxing is Back” below,

Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza said in their corresponding press release,

“We are proud to announce the strongest and most comprehensive schedule of fights in all of boxing,” 

“Each bout on this schedule, our largest schedule announcement since 2018, carries high stakes and significant implications. From highly regarded prospects to emerging stars to established champions – all in tough matchups – this lineup delivers on our promise to provide boxing fans with the best talent, the most exciting fights and the highest quality presentation in the sport.

We are thrilled to return to live boxing with this star-studded schedule of exciting, meaningful fights.” 

Those battles will include:

On Saturday August 1st, unbeaten (18-0) Philadelphia Junior featherweight Stephen Fulton takes on veteran Angelo Leo for the vacant WBO Junior Featherweight championship in the main event. That belt was vacated by Emanuel Navarrete last week.

The premium network confirmed that two weeks later the previously scheduled WBC Super Middleweight championship defense of David Benavidez against Roamer Angulo will be the main event for PBC’s show.

Benavidez (22-0, 19 KOs) regained his WBC title with a 9th round stoppage of Anthony Dirrell last September. The Benavidez-Angulo fight was originally scheduled to be in Benavidez’s  hometown of Phoenix for April, but has been postponed due to the pandemic.

Showtime will then have the first of the two pay-per-view offerings next as a “day-night doubleheader” on Saturday September 26th. That’s when WBC Junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo, 33-1, will battle Jeison Rosario, 20-1-1, who is the WBA and IBF champion, in a unification bout at 154 lb.

Rosario upset Julian “J Rock” Williams by 5th round stoppage in January to secure two of the titles.

Twin brother Jermall Charlo (photo at top) will put his unbeaten record, 30-0 and WBC middleweight Championship on the line on the same card, when he takes on Ukrainian number one contender Sergei Derevyanchenko. Jermall Charlo was last in action in a December 7th round TKO win over Dennis Hogan.

The Charlo Brothers have previously headlined and defended their World Championships on the same PBC Card on Fox back in December of 2018. This will be Showtime’s first foray into Pay-per-view boxing since January last year.

It’s not clear yet, which Charlo will headline the three fight card earlier in the day, but the educated speculation is that it would be Jermall fighting Derevyanchenko with him having popularity in Ukraine and the time difference putting his fight in prime time in Europe.

Presumably, there would be a 90 minute or more break and the second set of fights with the other Charlo in the main event would happen in the later evening.

Arguably, the marquee fight in Showtime announcement of their resumption of coverage of the sport will be the Saturday night October 24th PPV between Davis and Santa Cruz.

That fight has been anticipated for the last several months and potentially will be one of the more exciting fights in the back half of 2020.

When last saw “Tank” Davis in December, he outlasted veteran Yuriorkis Gamboa via a 12th round TKO to gain the WBA 135 lb. title pushing his unbeaten record to 23-0 with 22 KOs. That was Davis’s debut at lightweight where he is also seeking a potential mega-fight with unified champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Davis would come into this fight with the controversy of having been arrested Super Bowl weekend in Miami for a public domestic violence incident at a charity basketball game. The charges are not yet resolved.

However, for now, it’s an attractive fight with Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs), who won his most recent bout in November by unanimous decision over Miguel Flores to capture the WBA Jr. Lightweight title.

Showtime also announced that Erickson Lubin will headline a September 19th card at 22-1, 16 KOs, vs. Terrell Gausha, 21-1-1, 10 KOs in WBC Super Welterweight Title Eliminator Bout

The network and that they will also have shows on October 10th with Sergey Lipinets (16-1, 12 KOs) vs. Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (15-0, 8 KOs) in an IBF Welterweight Interim Title main event.

On November 28th, Showtime will feature Chris Colbert (14-0, 5 KOs) vs. Jaime Arboleda (16-1, 13 KOs) in a WBA Super Featherweight Interim Title battle.

And, finally for December 12th, the network will show Nordine Oubaali (17-0, 12 KOs) vs. Nonito Donaire (40-6, 26 KOs) – WBC Bantamweight World Championship in their scheduled main event.

Showtime confirmed that all of the fight cards will be at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, and for now, without fans in attendance