By Jake Donovan

It’s been a slow year in general for the boxing world, as fans have patiently waited – perhaps to a fault – waiting for something to finally happen.

The American premium cable outlet has announced its plans for an active stretch that calls for seven live telecasts over a 12-week span, as well as more to come beyond what has already been signed and sealed.

Kicking off the stellar run is the network having secured the U.S. televised rights to the April 9 show at the O2 Arena in London topped by unbeaten heavyweights Charles Martin and Anthony Joshua. Martin makes the first defense of the heavyweight title he acquired on Showtime’s airwaves in January, traveling abroad to face the wildly popular Joshua, the 2012 Olympic Gold medalist from England and considered the future of the division.

 

The bout will air live during a Saturday afternoon edition of Showtime Boxing International, as will the evening’s chief support, Lee Selby in the second defense of his featherweight title as he faces mandatory challenger Eric Hunter.

The overseas coverage heads up a 12-week run capped by confirmation of the rescheduled welterweight showdown between unbeaten titlist Keith Thurman and former champ Shawn Porter. Their bout was due to take place this weekend (March 12) live in primetime on CBS, only for Thurman to have to withdraw following injuries sustained in a car crash last month.

Showtime has always claimed its intention to keep the fight on its free-to-air affiliate network CBS upon its rescheduled date. That moment will now come on June 25 at a venue to be determined – possibly still at its originally destined Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. but not at all a done deal.

What is set is the evening’s new co-feature. Original plans called for a showdown between former three-division champions Abner Mares and Fernando Montiel. Mares remains on the card, but is now granted the opportunity to pursue a second featherweight title run as he takes on defending beltholder Jesus Cuellar of Argentina.

“Abner Mares has been asking for another shot at a featherweight title,” Stephen Espinoza, general manager and executive vice president of Showtime Sports pointed out to BoxingScene.com. “We are honored to be able to provide the platform for such an opportunity, as Cuellar has agreed to step up and accept the challenge.”

Sandwiched in between are a slew of fights that – at least on paper – reward boxing fans and media alike for its continued patience in waiting for something, anything to happen.

An interesting doubleheader on April 30 was not only saved after its original main event fell through, but paves the way for an even bigger event later this year. Badou Jack was due to make the second defense of his super middleweight title versus Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. However, the well-known offspring of arguably the greatest boxer to ever come out of Mexico adds another stain to his current mark, as a foot injury forced him to withdraw from the fight.

It can be argued that the replacement bout is an upgrade, as Canada’s Lucian Bute has agreed to step in and accept the fight. The former super middleweight champ enjoyed a lengthy reign before he was dethroned in a May ’12 knockout loss to Carl Froch. Efforts to reclaim a title fell short in a spirited effort versus James “Chunky” DeGale last November.

There now exists the possibility of a rematch, or at least a unification bout later this year. DeGale – the first boxer ever from England to win both a Gold medal and a major title - will appear on the same card, as he defends his version of the title versus mandatory challenger Rogelio “Porky” Medina, himself a replacement for the injured Jose Uzcategui.

A location has not yet been set for the doubleheader, but all parties have agreed in advance for the winners to square off in a super middleweight title unification bout. Such a fight will also air on Showtime in the second half of the year.

The wild card of the schedule is Showtime’s ability to secure stateside rights for the forthcoming heavyweight title clash between Deontay Wilder and Alexander Povetkin. Russian business mogul Andrey Ryabinsky claimed the rights to the fight after outbidding Wilder’s promoter, Lou DiBella during a recent purse bid hearing conducted by the World Boxing Council (WBC).

Ryabinsky announced earlier this week that the fight will for certain take place in Russia towards the end of May, with further details on the venue and exact date expected to come in the near future. Once finalized, Showtime hopes to add the fight to its schedule through its Showtime Boxing International platform.

“In its 30 years on air, Showtime has traveled around the world,” Chris DeBlasio, vice president of communication for Showtime Sports pointed out to BoxingScene.com, such comments coming on heels of the network celebrating its 30-year anniversary on Thursday. “We’ve traveled to Australia, China, Helsinki.”

Russia – presumably Moscow – can be added to that list once all relevant parties work out the final terms for the anticipated heavyweight clash.

Another key entry on the schedule is the Showtime debut of former 140 lb. titlist Ruslan Provodnikov. The all-action slugger from Russia remains in high demand for fighters at super lightweight, welterweight and even super welterweight. Other outlets have erroneously reported alleged advanced plans for a summer showdown with unbeaten Terence Crawford.

Instead, Provodnikov will take on John Molina Jr., with the bout to headline a June 11 telecast live from Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York. The same venue played host to a fight that was to serve as his network debut, his 12-round thriller with Lucas Matthysse last April.

“This move has been more than a year in the making,” notes Espinoza. “We originally submitted an offer to present Matthysse-Provodnikov, only for HBO to match it and obtain the rights to the fight. But we’re thrilled for Ruslan to make his debut with this fight, a matchup between a fighter in 2013’s Fight of the Year (Provodnikov’s narrow 12-round loss to Tim Bradley) and in the 2014 Fight of the Year (Molina’s heartbreaking stoppage loss to Matthysse). This one should fall right in line with those two wars.

“The schedule as a whole has us very excited here at Showtime. There has been a fair amount of negativity from boxing fans in recent times. You look at this schedule – most of the fights on the schedule feature Top 10 fighters facing one another, on several occasions Top 5 fighters matched up against one another.”

One more fight to be added to the schedule is a featherweight showdown between defending champ Leo Santa Cruz and recently crowned unified titlist Carl Frampton. Terms have been reached for the clash to likely take place later this summer.

The full schedule is as follows: 

  • April 9 (SHO Boxing International, London, England) - Charles Martin vs. Anthony Joshua; Lee Selby vs. Eric Hunter
  • April 15 (ShoBox, Verona, New York) - Nikolay Popatov vs. Stephon Young, plus three more fights
  • April 16 (SHO Championship Boxing, Mashantucket, Conn.) - Gary Russell Jr. vs. Patrick Hyland; Jose Pedraza vs. Stephen Smith
  • April 30 (SHO Championship Boxing, location TBD) - Badou Jack vs. Lucian Bute, James Degale vs. Rogelio Medina
  • June 11 (SHO Championship Boxing, Verona New York) - Ruslan Provodnikov vs. John Molina, Jr.
  • June 25 (CBS primetime, location TBD) - Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter; Jesus Cuellar vs. Abner Mares
  • Date TBD (SHO Boxing International, Russia) - Deontay Wilder vs. Alexander Povetkin

“Some of these fights have been in place for a while. Others just came together,” notes Espinoza. “It’s a collaborative effort with the many promoters with which we work, most of whom have agreed to sit on the news until we are able to present the schedule all in one impressive slate.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox