By Jake Donovan

Showtime and Golden Boy Promotions ends the 2013 boxing season with a bang, as boxing fans are treated to a loaded card on December 14 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The show is headlined by a welterweight showdown between Adrien Broner and Marcos Maidana, and features a stacked undercard filled with fan-friendly fights.

There is plenty of truth in advertising, as local fans have already responded in droves.

“We have configured the Alamodome to seat 35,000. We have already sold 10,000 tickets,” Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer announced during a media conference call Monday afternoon.

The sales already far exceed that of Golden Boy’s last Showtime-televised card in town, which saw three action fights as part of the best tripleheader boxing fans have seen in years. Keith Thurman and Jesus Soto Karass were both big winners on that show; Thurman stopped Diego Chaves in ten rounds and earned ‘Knockout of the Night’ honors, while Soto Karass turned in a career-best performance with a 12th round stoppage of former welterweight titlist Andre Berto.

Sandwiched in between the two bouts was a leading candidate for Fight of the Year honors, as Omar Figueroa outlasted an inhuman Nihito Arakawa over 12 rounds of savage warfare.

It was only natural that Thurman and Soto Karass were paired together for this show, with the fight solidified as the evening’s co-feature after several welterweights declined to get in the ring with Thurman. An all-action fight is expected, as is the case with several other bouts on the card, including a super bantamweight showdown between Leo Santa Cruz and Cesar Seda.

“We like to outdo ourselves. When you look at this card, all of the other fights are main events in their own way,” comments Schaefer. “How is it that 10,000 tickets are sold, with potential for 20,000 tickets? That doesn’t just happen without strong partners in the local market.

“You have James Leija a legend in this market. You have Mike Battah, who make up Leija-Battah Promotions. What Mike does is set up his warehouse to begin promoting a fight. He hires like 60 people. He puts 60 desks and phones and these people re in the warehouse on the phones non-stop from morning until evening selling tickets. That’s putting your money where your mouth is.”

The card is the final major stateside boxing telecast of the year, preceded by a quadrupleheader in Brooklyn one week prior, also to air on Showtime.

“This show is the perfect ending to the best year of boxing I’ve been involved with since 2000,” Schaefer insists.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board, Yahoo Boxing Ratings Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox