Showtime is in the process of formulating plans to bring live boxing back to that premium cable network in July.

Stephen Espinoza, Showtime’s president of sports and event programming, told BoxingScene.com on Tuesday that the network needs to ensure the safety of everyone involved in those events before determining the date for Showtime’s first boxing broadcast in July. Showtime has postponed four boxing telecasts due to the COVID-19 pandemic since its last broadcast March 13 from Hinckley, Minnesota.

“We’re targeting sometime in July to return,” Espinoza said. “And obviously, we’re spending a tremendous amount of time right now trying to make the environment as safe as possible. Keep in mind, that involves working with PBC as they set up protocols for the fighters and promoters. And it’s also working with our parent company [ViacomCBS], as we set up protocols for our employees and contractors. I think there’s a perception that young, healthy people are not affected. Number one, that’s not true for this particular virus.

“But more importantly, the vast majority of individuals probably have someone very close to them who is high risk. Whether it’s a grandparent they take care of, or a spouse or child who might have immune conditions. For someone in my position and the other senior people at Showtime, there’s a heavy responsibility toward asking employees and freelancers to come to an event and wanting to make sure they’re as safe as possible when they return to their families.”

According to promoter Bob Arum, his company is finalizing details to offer fights on ESPN or ESPN+ as soon as early in June. Arum’s Top Rank and ESPN also will implement strict safety protocols for their events, which Arum has stated will include four fights apiece.

Espinoza expressed a willingness to wait a little longer because scheduling fights for some time in July would afford fighters more time to train.

“Practically speaking, we want the fighters to have a full camp,” Espinoza said. “For example, California is just starting to re-open. Texas is just starting to re-open within the last week, along with a lot of other states. That means that a lot of the fighters in California, Texas and elsewhere haven’t had regular access to a gym or to sparring. So, could we rush back in June? Sure. But that wouldn’t give the fighters the best opportunities to succeed.

“We want the fighters to have full camps. And for us, as we re-open now in mid-May, that means coming back in July. We’re not gonna come back just for the sake of coming back. There’s not particular value in saying, ‘We’re the first,’ or, ‘We’re the second.’ The value is coming back with fights that matter, with fighters who have had a fair opportunity to prepare. That’s the key. Nobody wants to see fights with unprepared fighters, in meaningless tune-up fights. So, coming back in July is our target.”

Espinoza hasn’t decided which fights will air when, but he acknowledged that some of the fights postponed from March, April and May would be among those scheduled for when the network returns with live boxing.

Sites for Showtime’s fights haven’t been chosen, either, but Espinoza said the network’s cards could be televised from a ViacomCBS sound stage near Los Angeles. Using a sound stage could allow Showtime to air multiple cards in a relatively short amount of time, when everyone involved in the events already would be isolated and tested.

“We’re going to be operating without crowds for a significant period of time in most states, if not all states,” Espinoza said. “Then the question is, if you’re not gonna have a crowd, then what’s the best place to stage it? One thought is you go to a controlled environment, a sound stage. Or you find one venue that you’re very comfortable with and stay there. We want something that’s controlled and predictable, so that we can impose a consistent set of safety protocols.”

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