Showtime’s Espinoza- Charlo’s “wanted to bring big event to fans”

On Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut,  Showtime Network gets set the broadcast a unique “split doubleheader” pay-per-view.  And Stephen Espinoza, President of Showtime sports, made very clear that World Champion twin brothers Jermall and Jermell Charlo were gracious and understanding to make this happen.

Espinoza was a guest on the most recent addition of the “Big Fight Weekend” podcast and discussed further what it took to get the two dynamic champs from Houston, TX, to go along with their idea of having them both headline on the same day pay-per-view.

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“No one said ‘Let’s wait a few months and see if we can get in front of a crowd and make sure that I can maximize the money.’….The reality is they are leaving some money on the table, but no one wanted to wait. They said, ‘let’s get back to business.’ And, we wanted to bring an event to the fans,” Espinoza said.

The Saturday afternoon/evening cards will have five total World Title fights in all, featuring the likes of Luis Nery, John Riel Casimero and Brandon Figueroa all battling for World Championships.

However, the most intriguing fight will be 30-0, Jermall Charlo defending his WBC Middleweight Championship against previous World Title challenger Sergeiy Derevyanchenko. While the argument can be made that this will be Jermall Charlo’s toughest fight to date, our Sr. Writer for BFW,  Marquis Johns, said on the podcast that this is the most dangerous fighter Derevyanchenko has been in the ring with to date also.

The nightcap of fights will be culminated by twin brother Jermell Charlo, 33-1, going for the Unified 154 lb. championships against Puerto Rico’s, Jason Rosario. Jermell Charlo, the WBC Jr. Middleweight Champ, avenged the only loss of his career to get his WBC belt back with a TKO stoppage of Tony Harrison last December.

Meanwhile, Rosario pulled a shocking upset the next month knocking out Julian “J-Rock” Williams to capture the WBA and IBF World title version of the Junior Middleweight belts.

Also on the podcast, hear from Antoine Williams from “Greatest of All-Time Boxing Promotions” in Houston. Antoine has frequently been around the Charlos in their hometown including being at Jermall’s decision win (photo at top) in June of 2019 over Brandon Adams.

Williams gives insight on what Jermall Charlo will have to do to beat the rugged Ukrainian, Derevyanchenko.

Finally, Marquis and I go over the odds on both of the Charlo World Title fights and make predictions, including Rosario being a very attractive underdog (+370) against Jermell Charlo.

Most online sportsbooks have Jermall Charlo as the slight favorite along the lines of -180 and the Under/Over on the number of rounds for the WBC Middleweight Title fight at most sites is 10.5. Depending on the site, the odds may vary so make sure to go through each site and find the one that has the best value.

We also preview to other world title fights taking place in Europe on Saturday. Those includes a battle between Maris Briedis of Latvia and Yuniel Dorticos for the Cruiserweight Championship in the World Boxing Super Series finale’. That fight delayed from earlier this year by the pandemic is being held in a TV studio in Munich, Germany.

And also in England, Scotland’s Josh Taylor defends his portions of the Unified Junior Welterweight (140 lb.) Championship in a London TV studio. That will be against mandatory #1 IBF contender, Apinun Khongsong of Thailand.

Hear it all is part of the “Big Fight Weekend Podcast” and make sure to subscribe via Apple podcasts, Spotify Etc!