On Wednesday in Brooklyn, New York - unbeaten IBF welterweight world champion Errol Spence Jr. and former champion Lamont Peterson went face-to-face for the first time to discuss their world title showdown headlining action on Saturday, January 20 live on Showtime.

Spence (22-0, 19 KOs) makes the first defense of the title he captured back in May when he traveled to Sheffield to stop Kell Brook before a hostile crowd.

And Peterson (35-3-1, 17 KOs) vacated his WBA "regular" welterweight title and a guaranteed shot at champion Keith Thurman to take the opportunity against Spence.

Stephen Espinoza, the head of Showtime Sports, praised Peterson for agreeing to take on the challenge.

"Not a lot of fighters are rushing to fight Errol Spence. Lamont Peterson not only stepped up to the challenge, but he relinquished his welterweight title to take this fight. That's the kind of fighter he is. He has one of the strongest resumes in the division and he's fought the best guys in the sport," Espinoza said.

"We're thrilled to kick off the year with this matchup. It's another great fight in the welterweight division, a division we've been paying a lot of attention to for years."

Espinoza is thrilled with the way 2017 played out, as a whole, for Showtime Boxing.

"As we come to the end of 2017 we look back on what has been a really strong year. 25 nights of live boxing, 80 live boxing matches and 27 world title fights. Not just title fights, but world title fights featuring top ranked challengers against top ranked champions," Espinoza said.

"We've brought you the most watched fight of the year in Keith Thurman vs. Danny Garcia right here at Barclays Center on CBS. It was also the most watched primetime boxing match in nearly 20 years. But we will not be resting on our laurels.

"We'll kick off next year with an incredibly strong card. Errol Spence has grown up on Showtime and we're proud of that. He made his debut on ShoBox and won his world title on Showtime He has knocked out nine straight opponents and in his last five fights his opponents have an impressive record of 141-7-3."