After a transitional year in 2015, where many of its core fighters
appeared on other networks as part of the PBC, Showtime has returned with a
strong second quarter in 2016. The network's upcoming slate features a number
of appealing matchups, such as Wilder-Povetkin, Jack-Bute, Thurman-Porter
(produced by Showtime for corporate parent CBS) and a host of battles for
supremacy in the junior middleweight division.
Earlier this week, Showtime added another intriguing fight card to
its schedule. Ruslan Provodnikov, who just signed a multi-fight agreement with
the network, headlines against John Molina on June 11th
at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York. Other featured
fights on the broadcast are former junior middleweight titlist Demetrius
Andrade against Willie Nelson and interim lightweight titleholder Dejan Zlaticanin
defending his belt against Emiliano Marsili.
In the center of all of this activity for the network is Stephen
Espinoza, Executive Vice President, General Manager, Showtime Sports and Event
Programming. Colloquially, he's the head of Showtime Boxing and a key figure in
terms of the sport's presentation in the United States. On Monday, I had
an opportunity to interview Espinoza at a media event for the
Provodnikov-Molina fight card announcement. In the following Q&A, Espinoza
talks about the current state of Showtime boxing, CBS's commitment to the
sport, the impetus behind the Provodnikov signing and the growth of Showtime
International as a vehicle for broadcasting overseas fights. He also reveals
two fighters whom he expects to become featured attractions on the network
during the next 12 to 18 months.
Interview conducted by
Adam Abramowitz:
The interview has been edited and condensed.
I wanted to ask about CBS’s corporate commitment, specifically,
where CBS is regarding boxing. Obviously there have been significant changes
over the last year with Floyd Mayweather’s retirement. How does that play out
for Showtime/CBS’s commitment to the sport?
All of us at Showtime are very fortunate in that our leadership is
very committed to the sport, from [Showtime Chairman] Matt Blank, his commitment
to the network for 25 years – he’s been here since the Tyson years – all the
way up to our CEO, Les Moonves [CEO of CBS], who's a big boxing fan. When you
have leadership that understands the value of the sport and respects the sport,
it’s a tremendous advantage. I never have to sell our leadership in what this
sport does for the network. It’s not just something we do because it’s a
tradition and we’ve always done it. It’s a demographic thing and it’s a
tradition that’s very worthwhile for us.
2015 was a year of impressive feats for the network and also a
time of transition for Showtime with many of its fighters appearing in other
places. It seems that in 2016 the floodgates have been open as far as the
quantity of shows that you’ve been able to broadcast this year. What has been
the significant change in terms of this year versus last year?
Last year we knew it would be a transition year. The plan was that
these guys were going to go out to other networks on an experimental basis to
see what happens and then they would come back.
You faced a lot of skepticism when you said
that initially.
It seems like a lot of people had forgotten that I said that they
would come back and they are coming back, from Quillin to Jacobs to Wilder to
others. In terms of scheduling and the volume, there’s another thing that we’ve
sort of come to over the last couple of years, and this is a relatively new
development. We’re scheduling away from other major sports. So we are, by
design, busier during this period of time because October and November, by
design, are going to be light.
If you go back three years, there wasn’t a prime time football
game every Saturday night. Now there’s a prime time football game sometimes on
two networks, plus ESPN. So boxing’s not at a point where we can afford to go head-to-head
with two college football games that are generating 15 million viewers between
them. So, it is a little bit of trying to schedule more intelligently.
Have you found the clustering of your events helpful in terms of
ratings and brand building for Showtime Boxing?
It absolutely does help. That’s always the goal but there are a lot of
other factors – availability of venues, injuries, fighter training schedules –
those types of things. It’s sort of like how everyone looks and says why aren’t
there more fights in January and February when there’s not a lot going on in
the sport. You know, most fighters don’t like to train over Christmas,
especially once they get to later in their careers. There are always these
extraneous factors which complicate things from what the ideal situation would
be.
Showtime’s been very active in the 140- and 147-lb. divisions for
years and has featured a lot of the top fighters in those weight classes. Why [the
commitment to] Ruslan Provodnikov and why now?
It’s been something we’ve been working on for at least 15, 16
months because Provodnikov, stylistically, matches up with anybody. He’s not
afraid to take fights. He’s very entertaining. So we’ve been looking for a way
since last year. We bid on Matthysse-Provodnikov but HBO wound up with it [they
had first-and-last negotiating rights for the fight]. It’s been a long process
He’s one of the few guys that we haven’t had in the rotation here and I think
for him he was looking for an entry into the round robin that we have here.
He’s a really interesting piece that can match up at either at 140 or 147. I
think there’s a lot of value with him. Has he won every one of his fights? No.
That’s not critical. What’s really important with Provodnikov is his effort and
his style, and he’s always entertaining.
I've really enjoyed the introduction of the Showtime International
fights into your network's programming. How did that process come about and
what are you looking to do with the series?
One of the things with overseas fights is that they are more
expensive to produce. There’s always a cost-benefit analysis, the realities of
budgets. With the U.K. fights, there’s a certain amount of ego going on. The
kneejerk reaction is, “We produce our fights better than anyone. Let’s send our
guys over and do it.” When in reality, Sky Sports does a great job, great
announcers. Their production is second-to-none and there’s no reason why we
couldn’t expand the number of events by lowering our investment and partnering
with Sky. The critical piece of that was accepting that we could put Sky
production on our air and no one would have a negative reaction to it, and we
could live with it. All of the sudden, it’s very cost-effective and you see a
first-class production. We have fights that wouldn’t otherwise happen [on our
network].
Also, the boxing world is a lot smaller now and I’m sure you’re
thinking that a lot of these fighters could appear on your network down the
line.
Obviously, some these fighters already have. Kell Brook is a good
example. Carl Frampton is a good example, from CBS to Showtime International
and now he could be on our network.
Listen, I won't lie. I was happy I didn’t have to sit in front of
my computer for the Anthony Joshua fight.
Right. And for a big fight like Wilder-Povetkin, I still think
there are benefits to actually going out there. And when we get something like
that we will do everything we can to go out on-site because there are benefits to
being there but everywhere else, I don’t think anyone had any complaints about
the Sky coverage.
I know that your schedule is robust over the next few months but
I’m sure that you’re always looking ahead. Who are some young fighters that
you're excited about? Give me one or two new fighters that might become a big
part of Showtime's programming over the next 12 to 18 months?
Julian Williams will be someone really interesting. Between the
May 21st show [a Showtime card that features three junior
middleweight title fights] and the June 11th show, we got the consensus top-six
fighters in the division at junior middleweight. And on top of that, with
Julian Williams, you may have the guy who’s outside the top six who’s most
interesting. And one thing that we’re proud of with the schedule is that
they’re not stand-alone fights. They are fights which expressly lead to other
fights, like Jack-DeGale, or they are fights where we know, de facto, like the
three super welters, that there are mandatories coming up. We know that the
winner of Andrade-Nelson is going to be the mandatory for Charlo.
When we later see Leo Santa Cruz and then Abner Mares, we know in
the fall there may be a rematch between the two of them. One of the reasons
that we switched the June 24th co-feature is because Abner Mares was looking
expressly towards the rematch with Santa Cruz. He wanted to come in with a
title too. So instead of fighting Fernando Montiel, he said, "I want a
title belt." Even though it’s a much tougher fight [against titleholder
Jesus Cuellar], he’ll come into the Santa Cruz fight as an equal.
That’s if he wins.
That’s right. It could be Cuellar.
Julian Williams is a guy who’s been itching to get his shot, and
being a mandatory, I think he’ll get there pretty quickly.
It’s not a new name but it’s a name that’s coming back. I think
that Mikey Garcia has a lot left. I think he’ll be coming back at junior welter
so he’ll be poised to jump into the middle of this round robin.
Vadim Kornilov [Provodnikov's manager] has a number of
Eastern European kids. I think Beterbiev, again, not a secret by any means, but
there are a lot of these hidden gems…
The real question is now that we’re getting this high-level
activity at 126, 140, 147 and the others, is how do we continue to build young
talent? And this is largely a promoter’s job but the network has some role in
it. I think we’ve done a fairly good job in the welterweight division. We’re
now seeing Mayweather and Pacquiao step aside. And you’ve got everyone from
Thurman-Porter to Danny Garcia. So you’ve got a number of guys poised there.
I think Gervonta Davis is also another guy. It’s funny. Floyd
called me. When Floyd first signed the deal, one of the first times I met him I
said here’s my cell phone number. I told him you should have a direct
relationship with someone that influences your career and I assume you
already have the cell phone number of the guy running HBO sports...I knew he
didn’t.
He’s actually only used it three or four times. And one of the
times was before the first Maidana fight and he called me Friday after the
weigh in, which is a strange time to get a call. So, I had some concerns. He
said, “Stephen, how many times have I called you about a fighter.” And I said,
zero, none.
He said, “Gervonta Davis. I’m calling you right now about Gervonta
Davis.” I said great, do you want a ShoBox date? He said, "No. Just remember that
I called you about Gervonta Davis."
And I think within a very short
time, within a year, Gervonta Davis will be the talk of that division.
Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.
He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
@snboxing on twitter, SN Boxing on Facebook
Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
