Showtime, Premier Boxing Champions Finalize New 3-Year Deal

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Boxing Scene - 8/30.2018

SHOWTIME Sports and Premier Boxing Champions have entered into a three-year boxing programming agreement extending their long-term partnership. The deal calls for a monthly series of events presented by Premier Boxing Champions to air live on SHOWTIME, ensuring the network’s access to the deepest talent pool in boxing and its continued ability to deliver the industry’s leading programming.

The agreement also calls for Premier Boxing Champions to deliver content for a significant expansion of live boxing programming from SHOWTIME Sports coming in 2019. The announcement was made today by Stephen Espinoza, President, Sports and Event Programming for Showtime Networks Inc.

Premier Boxing Champions, a live boxing series created by Haymon Sports, LLC, features more than 160 boxers from around the world. Founded in 2014, Premier Boxing Champions boasts the largest collection of world champions from bantamweight to heavyweight, 14 in total and far more than any other entity in the sport.

SHOWTIME and Premier Boxing Champions have collaborated to set the standard for live boxing where the brightest stars in the sport compete in the most compelling and competitive matchups on a consistent basis.

“Over the past seven-plus years, SHOWTIME has developed the most comprehensive slate of boxing programming in the world,” said Espinoza. “We have consistently been recognized for making the most significant contributions to the sport of boxing, both financially and editorially. Building off our industry-leading live event schedule, this long-term deal with Premier Boxing Champions ensures that SHOWTIME will remain the No. 1 destination for the world’s greatest fighters and their passionate and diverse fans.”

“Premier Boxing Champions is pleased to extend our relationship with SHOWTIME and continue our commitment to providing the best boxing events with the biggest stars across the most popular divisions in the sport,’’ said Tim Smith, Vice President of Communications for Haymon Boxing.

In 2018, SHOWTIME is delivering more live boxing than any other network—more than 30 presentations in total by the end of this year. In 2019, anchored largely by Premier Boxing Champions’ events and including content providers from around the world, SHOWTIME will present an even larger schedule with live boxing from virtually every level of the sport—prospects and contenders, to world championship bouts, world title unifications and pay-per-view tent pole attractions.

In addition, SHOWTIME Sports will continue to grow its burgeoning slate of shoulder programming in support of the sport and its athletes including the three-time Sports Emmy Award winning series ALL ACCESS, the cutting-edge talk show BELOW THE BELT WITH BRENDAN SCHAUB, and digital-only series such as SHO REPORT, FIGHT NIGHT and RING RESUME.

By the end of 2018, SHOWTIME will have presented more than 26-world championship fights this year, including four world title unification bouts and 10 bouts pitting top-five rated opponents from around the world. In all, SHOWTIME will have delivered more than 70 live bouts spanning ShoBox: The New Generation, SHOWTIME BOXING: Special Edition, SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING COUNTDOWN, SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL, SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and SHOWTIME PPV.

The 2018 lineup, hailed as the strongest in boxing, was revealed in January at the inaugural SHOWTIME BOXING UPFRONT, an event that established a top-flight boxing season and a level of organization never before seen in the sport. Planning for the 2019 SHOWTIME boxing schedule is underway, and the first slate of main event matchups will be revealed in January.

Barthelemy, Ramirez Ends in a Split Draw in Las Vegas Battle

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Photo courtesy of Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions

BOXING SCENE - By Ryan Burton

Cannery Hotel & Casino, North Las Vegas, Nevada - In a very entertaining back and forth fight, decorated amateur Leduan Barthelemy (13-0-1) battled Eduardo Ramirez (20-0-3) to a questionable split draw in their featherweight battle. The height and reach advantage that Barthelemy enjoyed was evident from the opening bell. He also had a big speed advantage was difficult for Ramirez to adjust to. Ramirez turned it on with a big fourth as he landed several hard head shots.

The give and take action continued through the fifth and sixth as Barthelemy, the younger brother of former champion Rances Barthelemy, landed softer blows while Ramirez landed heavy artillery. Barthelemy tried to turn the tide in the seventh and began to sit on his shots but Ramirez also had moments. Barthelemy had better ninth and tenth rounds to make the fight closer.

97-93 Barthelemy, 96-94 Ramirez and 95-95 were the final scores.

"I wanted to pressure him all the way through and take away his reach advantage," said Ramirez. "I felt good the whole fight and he never hurt me at any point. I believed in my skills and I performed well. I thought that I won the fight, it was a close fight but I believe that I did what I had to do to win. I would fight him again and beat him even worse."

"It was a very tough, physical fight for both of us," said Barthelemy. "I didn't feel 100 percent but I was able to work through it and I never felt hurt during the fight. He landed on me but I was able to keep my composure. I would definitely fight him again. I'll be ready for another great battle and I'll get the clear victory this time."

In a battle of super featherweight prospects, Alejandro Salinas (9-1) outworked a gritty Duarn Vue (12-1) in a barn burner. The entire fight was fought from close range and Vue endured hellacious shots all night long. Salinas landed at will but wasn't able to finish off his opponent. The final tallies were 80-72, 79-73 and a too close 77-75.

In the opening bout of the telecast, Las Vegas resident by way of Cuba Ivan Jiménez (8-1-1) was defeated by Bryan Figueroa (13-0) of México in their lightweight bout via unanimous decision. After a feeling out process, the action heated up in the third when Figueroa landed several hard shots. He was also warned for low blows for the third time.

Jiménez came out with a sense of urgency in the fourth and landed a hard shot out of the gate to try to slow down Figueroa's momentum but was largely unsuccessful. Jiménez came out with a sense of urgency to close the show strong in the sixth and final round but it was too little too late. The final scores were 58-56 on all three scorecards.

Luis Ortiz: No Way Wilder Can Take My Punch; Will Pay for Mistakes

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BOXING SCENE - By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Luis Ortiz is convinced Deontay Wilder won’t be able to take his power Saturday night.

The strong southpaw from Cuba cannot wait to exploit Wilder’s technical flaws, mistakes Ortiz promises will lead to him knocking out the undefeated champion at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The extremely confident Wilder has knocked out 97 percent of his professional opponents, but Ortiz is sure Wilder is in for a devastating awakening when they fight for Wilder’s WBC title.

“There’s no way,” Ortiz said Thursday when asked after their press conference if Wilder will be able to handle his power. “Every mistake he makes, I’m gonna make him pay for it.”

Ortiz told Wilder exactly that, among other things, when they engaged in an intense staredown following Thursday’s press conference.

“I asked him when we were up there, ‘Do you wanna fight right now? We can go right now,’ ” Ortiz said. “I’ve got the hunger and I’m gonna do whatever it takes to win this fight.”

Miami’s Ortiz (28-0, 24 KOs, 2 NC) is confident he is a combination of intelligence, power and skill that Wilder hasn’t come close to encountering during the American’s ascent to stardom.

At the championship level, only Eric Molina appeared to hurt Wilder. Molina (26-5, 19 KOs) wobbled Wilder with a left hook early in the third round of their June 2015 fight.

Wilder quickly overcame that troublesome moment and dropped Molina four times. He knocked out Molina in the ninth round of his first title defense.

Mostly, though, Wilder has managed to avoid getting hit consistently with flush punches. Still, Wilder’s wildness at times leaves him susceptible to counter punches, the skillful Ortiz’s specialty.

“I’ve got power and I’ve got technique,” Ortiz said. “I don’t care. I’m ready to go.”

Ortiz, 38, and Wilder, 32, have combined to knock out 62 of 67 opponents (93 percent), excluding Ortiz’s two no-contests. Each fighter has gone 12 rounds just once, and Ortiz cannot envision that happening a second time Saturday night (Showtime; 9 p.m. ET).

“We’re both two guys with a lot of power,” Ortiz said, “and whoever makes the first mistake, the fight’s gonna be over with. And I’m not making that mistake.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.

Errol Spence vs. Carlos Ocampo Deal Reached For June 16

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Boxing Scene - By Keith Idec

Errol Spence Jr. will face the opponent everyone expected June 16.

An ESPN.com report early Wednesday morning stated that promoters for Spence, the unbeaten IBF welterweight champion, and mandatory challenger Carlos Ocampo have reached an agreement for them to fight that night. Showtime will televise the Spence-Ocampo match from an undetermined venue in the Dallas area.

The IBF ordered Spence (23-0, 20 KOs), of DeSoto, Texas, to make his next title defense against the unproven Ocampo (22-0, 13 KOs) last month. A purse bid was scheduled for March 6 at the IBF’s headquarters in Springfield, New Jersey, but the IBF informed the involved parties Tuesday night that it was canceled because Tom Brown, the promoter representing Spence, and Zanfer Promotions (Ocampo) came to an agreement.

The 27-year-old Spence – who’s generally regarded as one of the best boxers, pound-for-pound, in the sport – will make the second defense of the IBF welterweight title he won by knocking out Kell Brook (36-2, 25 KOs) in the 11th round May 27 in Sheffield, England, Brook’s hometown. The powerful southpaw stopped former two-division champion Lamont Peterson (35-4-1, 17 KOs), of Washington, D.C., in the eighth round January 20 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The 22-year-old Ocampo hasn’t beaten a top contender during his climb up the IBF’s rankings.

He is rated No. 3 among the IBF’s 147-pound contenders. The top two spots are vacant, however, which makes Ocampo the leading available contender for the mandatory defense Spence is due to make.

Ocampo will fight outside of Mexico for the first time when he travels to the Dallas area to challenge Spence. He last fought November 11, when Ocampo stopped fellow Mexican Dario Ferman (14-4, 11 KOs) in the seventh round in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.