By Victor Salazar
New York - Showtime Executive Vice President and General Manager Stephen Espinoza was on hand at the unveiling of Comosa AG’s World Boxing Super Series, a bracket-style elimination tournament that will feature the world’s best boxers and a total of $50 million dollars in prize money split between two weight classes annually with the winner of the tournaments winning the Muhammad Ali Trophy.
Espinoza has worked closely with the Chairman of the Americas for Comosa, Richard Schaefer, in the past so it was no surprise to see the Showtime executive on hand.
Comosa’s backers are the same people that previously backed the once failed European Football League that we all know today as the Champions League. That alone intrigues Espinoza.
“In terms of the organization itself, it’s good for the sport,” Espinoza told BoxingScene.com “You look at the pedigree of those involved, you have the people that are behind the Champions League. You look at when the Champions League was started, European Soccer as a juggled nest. There was no structure where you can see who the best team was.”
Espinoza feels the concept is fresh and he will evaluate what the details entail, but he is certainly interested in televising the venture.
“The Champions League concept is now behind the World Boxing Super Series,” stated Espinoza. “In terms of our relationship, we have a framework in place and we’ll be monitoring it very closely as the details come in. We wanted to let the organization announce itself and as the details move in, and for then to solidify the fighters, schedule, dates, venues and weight classes. Once there’s a clearer picture, we’ll see about television rights and so forth.”
The Showtime Executive is coming off a week where his programming of Showtime Boxing on CBS enjoyed very good numbers. The Keith Thurman-Danny Garcia fight averaged 3.74 million viewers and peaked at 5.1 million viewers. Like the mission of the tournament, and Thurman-Garcia, Espinoza feels if you make the best fights, people will watch.
“I was surprised,” said Espinoza. “There’s no time of the year where there’s no competition. You had Duke-North Carolina, the NBA and UFC. So I wanted to be cautious because those are four solid events. That could take draw out the boxing demographics. So to be on top with all that going on is good for boxing and the interest of the sport. When you make the right fights people will watch, it’s a lesson to all of us, best fighting the best. The audience will respond.”
