As speculation continues to swirl that Showtime will be scaling back boxing coverage in the near future, Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza isn’t divulging any details.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Canelo Alvarez/Jermell Charlo fight on Showtime PPV, Espinoza said word that the Paramount Global network will be getting out of the boxing space has been talked about for several years. The network just continues on.
“It’s the same rumor we’ve been hearing since 2018, and it’s usually guys who have a rooting interest against us who are spreading it,” he said. “You just shrug it off, we continue doing what we’re doing, we weren’t going out of business in 2018 when guys were saying it, our response then was, ‘We’re just going to keep making good fights,’ and that’s what we’re doing now.”
Espinoza has faced questions about Showtime’s future in boxing as his public war of words with UFC president Dana White flared up again this week.
White basically said if boxing on Showtime goes away, he’s not gonna care.
“F–k Espinoza, and it’s about time that shitty product is off the air,” White said.
Stephen fired back in a press conference on Wednesday, turning the focus on where it should be: Canelo’s fight. He pointed out that the fight has already done $20 million in ticket revenue, something White wishes the UFC could pull off.
“That scumbag has absolutely nothing to do with the success of Canelo, Ryan Garcia or Terrence Crawford,” White said. “Those guys are mega stars and they are the ones responsible for driving the gates in their fights. For him to even try and take any credit at all shows you exactly what an arrogant, delusional POS that guy is.”
