By Jake Donovan
Lou DiBella had a big day in store on Tuesday in formally announcing the June 25 welterweight showdown between Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter, which will air live in primetime on CBS from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
However, his day wasn’t limited to generating interest in the aforementioned bout, but bringing another to boxing’s latest hotbed. Mission accomplished, as the venue will also play host to an attractive featherweight clash between Leo Santa Cruz and Carl Frampton after an extensive huddle session between DiBella and the Barclay staff, which was on hand for the Thurman-Porter press conference.
The battle of unbeaten champs – Frampton will be moving up in weight from 122-pounds – will take place on July 30 in Brooklyn, airing live on Showtime.
“It’s an honor to promote the two biggest shows of the summer in the U.S.,” DiBella told BoxingScene.com, having previously placed a hold on the venue with the New York State Athletic Commission. “These are two terrific events, and only the tip of the iceberg of what’s in store for Showtime and the PBC (Premier Boxing Champions).”
The PBC series was created by high-powered Al Haymon, who is the advisor to all four mentioned fighters. The shows have been inconsistent in regards to quality matchups in the development stage, with whispers of funds beginning to run low and the series perhaps on the proverbial ropes.
Quite the opposite is true, in fact. A glimpse at the preliminary schedule shows no fewer than 50 shows already in store for 2016 – a tally that doesn’t include those that appear on Showtime, which doesn’t carry the PBC branding but continues to prominently featured Haymon-advised boxers. Recent shows have experimented in cross-promotion, as was the case on April 16 with back-to-back telecasts on NBC in primetime and Showtime immediately thereafter.
A similar formula is in place for this weekend, with the second edition of PBC on Fox on tap for Saturday evening in primetime. Once the three-bout card goes off air, viewers will be encouraged to flip over to Showtime for a super middleweight title fight doubleheader, where the winners are contractually guaranteed to meet later this year in a unification match.
Showtime’s full spring schedule release earlier this year also made sure to mention Thurman-Porter (which airs live on CBS in primetime) and Santa Cruz-Frampton in its plans for summer action.
Both bouts serve as fitting centerpieces for Showtime’s schedule, as well as furthering the PBC brand given the slew of summer shows to be announced in the coming days and weeks. While the series will be featured across the nation, Barclays Center will play a prominent role throughout the summer and beyond.
“Fans will see, the series is really beginning to ratchet up the quality,” DiBella insists.
As for this particular bout, Santa Cruz (32-0-1, 18KOs) will make the second defense of the featherweight belt he claimed following a 12-round nod over Abner Mares in their fantastic slugfest last August.
Sadly, the three-division title claimant – who is coming off of a 5th round knockout of Kiko Martinez in their shootout this past February - could enter the upcoming bout with a new voice in his corner. BoxingScene.com has learned that Santa Cruz’ father and head trainer, Jose Santa Cruz is forced to contend with cancer, his health coming first and his son proudly fighting in his father’s honor.
It adds to an already tough task ahead versus Frampton (22-0, 14KOs), whose second career stateside appearance will come a little more than a year since his debut on this side of the pond. The fighting pride of Belfast, Northern Ireland traveled abroad for a super bantamweight title defense versus second-generation boxer Alejandro Gonzalez Jr., twice climbing off the deck to eventually take a 12-round unanimous decision win.
Hours before Santa Cruz turned away Martinez in their Showtime-televised bout, Frampton – whose title reign began with a repeat win over Martinez in Sept. ’14 – racked up the biggest win of his career, outpointing longtime rival Scott Quigg in their unification bout in front of a jam-packed Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.
His run as a two-belt titlist is short-lived, as Frampton has severed ties with the division in lieu of trying to figure out how to honor two mandatory challenges in a span of 30 days. Instead, he moves up in weight in seeking to become a two-division titlist.
A supporting cast for the July 30 show has not yet been formed. There were whispers of Brooklyn’s own Daniel Jacobs returning home for a middleweight title defense versus former titlist Andy Lee from Ireland; however, the rumored bout – should it materialize – is more likely to land on another show, be it Showtime or elsewhere on the PBC circuit.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow him on his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2
