Showtime's Stephen Espinoza on The Angel Garcia Controversy

By Victor Salazar

New York - It’s dubbed Showtime on CBS. That is the magnitude of the WBA/WBC welterweight unification between Keith Thurman (27-0, 22 KO’s) and Danny Garcia . The two will square off on primetime on CBS this Saturday from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The man responsible for bringing two of the best boxers in the world to free network television is Showtime Executive Vice President and General Manager Stephen Espinoza.

Espinoza was on hand for the kick off press conference for Thurman-Garcia when Angel Garcia, the father and trainer of Danny (33-0, 19 KO’s), went on a verbal tirade that many called racist and homophobic.

There were many that called for the trainer to be banned from being in the corner and being licensed by the state of New York. The theory behind the push for a corner ban, was because the fight was being televised on CBS - the parent company of Showtime - and not on the premium network.

Although Espinoza does not condone Angel’s actions, he feels that the press’ outrage was somewhat late in the game.

“Its unfortunate situation,” the Showtime executive told BoxingScene.com. “It’s not something you like to see at any press conference or any event. I think some people have ran with it like click bait at a certain level because Angel’s been saying things like that for a while and that’s not to say its ok - when the behavior isn’t all that much different than he’s been doing for a while.”

Having said that, Espinoza certainly feels the attention the entire situation received has certainly opened Garcia’s eyes.

“I think it was a bit opportunistic,” stated Espinoza. “I think Angel knew what he did was wrong and certainly paid attention to the backlash. He’s been in contact with the commission and I don’t know what the decision is but he’s certainly I think learned a lesson.”

Garcia was banned from speaking at the final press conference, but he was licensed by the New York State Athletic Commission and will be in his son’s corner when Garcia tries to unify the titles later tonight.