Showtime rolling out concepts for Lara-Castano card

In an effort to bring in more eyes to Saturday’s fight headlined by Erislandy Lara and current WBA Super Welterweight champion Brian Castaño,  Showtime is doing two concepts for tonight’s card taking place from the Barclays Center.

The first one is streaming the entire undercard live on their Youtube channel as well as their Facebook page starting at 6:30 p.m.  In the undercard, undefeated Bantamweight Antonio Russell (12-0, 10 KOs) faces Jose Maria Cardenas (16-3,13 KOs) in an 8 round contest.

Cardenas fought last August in a battle to Melvin Lopez for the then-vacant NABA title but lost in a unanimous decision.

Also in action is cruiserweight Edwin Rodriguez (30-2,20 KOs) up against Mitch Williams (16-6-3, 13KOs) and in a super featherweight bout, southpaw Leduan Barthelemy (13-0-1,7 KO) goes inside the ring with Miguel Angel Aispuro (11-6-2, 7 KOs).

Showtime streaming this card on both media platforms helps eliminate the problem they had last Saturday when the undercard for the Chris Eubank Jr- James Degale fight ran overtime, causing an over 35-minute delay in what wasn’t seen outside of United Kingdom pay=per-view.

Other fights ran over a bit—we will be on the air in a little while

— Al Bernstein (@AlBernstein) February 23, 2019

The 2nd one they are arranging for tonight’s Lana-Castano card is a chance to pick the winner’s for cash and prizes in association with DraftKings.

On Thursday, Showtime and DraftKings announced a collaboration on a game in which fans will be able to guess the outcome of all fights broadcast on Showtime. This will include matches on pay-per-view, Showtime Championship Boxing, ShoBox and Showtime Boxing Special Edition presentations.

Boxing fans who are familiar to Throwdown Fantasy game will feel right at home with this reincarnation of the concept.

There will be a prize of $5,000 for each show and the top five finalists on a card will win a Showtime Boxing prize pack. The 2019 winner will earn a free trip to every Showtime Championship Boxing card in 2020.

“This unique collaboration with DraftKings delivers an entertaining companion experience for viewers and provides a year-long connection to all Showtime boxing events,” said Stephen Espinoza, Showtime’s president of sports & event programming in a press release. “We’re excited to align with a leading sports-tech entertainment brand in the U.S. as Showtime Sports continues to deliver fresh and innovative ways for fans to enjoy the best that boxing has to offer.”

Ezra Kucharz, the chief business officer at DraftKings, acknowledged the passion of fight fans in deciding to go forward with the venture.

“Boxing draws edge-of-the-seat fans with incredible passion and engagement with the sport, and this collaboration will further our ability to best connect with our burgeoning player community,” Kucharz said in a release.