CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING RETURNS TO PRIMETIME ON CBS WITH PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS BLOCKBUSTER
LIVE ON CBS 8:30 P.m. AK/5:30 P.m. PT
PHOTOS by Esther Lin/SHOWTIME:
NEW YORK – Janvye 23, 2016 - WBA Welterweight World Champion Keith “One Time” Thurman will defend his title against former champ “Showtime” Shawn Porter in a blockbuster matchup of two of the world’s best 147-pound fighters on Samdi, Mas 12 sou SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on CBS.
The welterweight showdown will air live on CBS at 8:30 p.m. AK / 5:30 p.m. PT from Mohegan Sun Casino Resort in Uncasville, Connecticut. Evènman an, promoted by DiBella Entertainment, is produced by SHOWTIME Sports® for the CBS Television Network, both divisions of the CBS Corporation. The last primetime boxing event on CBS was Muhammad Ali-Leon Spinks on Feb. 15, 1978.
Thurman (26-0, 22 Ko), of Clearwater, Fla., and Porter (26-1-1, 16 Ko), of Las Vegas by way of Akron, Ohio, are both coming off superb 2015 campaigns that solidified the fresh faces among the elite of arguably boxing’s most exciting division. With perennial pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather now retired, the 27-year-old Thurman and the 28-year-old Porter are hungry to stake their claim as the future of boxing.
“Thurman vs. Porter is a marquee matchup of two elite boxers in the prime of their careers, and the winner will establish himself as arguably the No. 1 fighter in boxing’s glamour division,"Te di Stephen Espinoza, Vis-Prezidan Egzekitif ak Manadjè Jeneral, Chotim Espò. “Fights of this caliber don’t come along very often, ak yo lè yo fè, they deserve to be on the biggest stage possible. That’s why all of us at SHOWTIME and CBS are so excited to be able to deliver this pivotal matchup to a primetime audience on America’s highest-rated network.”
“Last year was an amazing year for me: I headlined the very first Premier Boxing Champions show and was named PBC Fighter of the Year,” Thurman said. “But this is my year to dominate the welterweight division and I’m excited to be getting ready to take out Shawn Porter. I am ready to get back in the ring and bring boxing fans what they’ve been looking for – the top true welterweight champion of the world, the one who is going to take out all competitors one by one. I am Keith ‘One-Time’ Thurman and I’m going to show you what a champion looks like on Mas 12."
“I’m very confident in my ability. That’s why I’ve been looking forward to this fight because I’m someone who can beat Keith Thurman,” Porter said. “Nothing about Keith really makes me nervous. I do know that he’s going to be ready for this fight. He’s a fighter that has the heart of a lion just like I do. I expect this to be a fight to the finish. A win over Keith Thurman is what we’ve been waiting for.”
“Keith Thurman against Shawn Porter is one of the best matchups that can be made in the welterweight division right now and I am thrilled that it is taking place at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn.,” di Lou DiBella, Prezidan an DiBella Lwazi-. “The hard-punching world titleholder Thurman and the highly skilled former champion Porter will have the opportunity to prove that they are the next heir to the throne in the post-Mayweather era of the 147 liv divizyon.”
“One Time” Thurman, who owns a better than 80 percent KO ratio and knocked out 18 nan premye l ' 20 opozan, is considered one of the most avoided fighters in boxing. After unsuccessfully lobbying to fight the best of the division for the past two years, Thurman finally had a breakout 2015.
The hard-hitting Florida native floored former champion and long-time contender Robert Guerrero en route to a convincing 12th round unanimous last March in Las Vegas. He then dominated and bloodied former champ Luis Collazo on Jiyè 11, winning via seventh round TKO. Thurman won the Interim WBA belt with a knockout of Diego Chaves in 2013 and scored consecutive knockouts over Jesus Soto Karass (2013) and Julio Diaz (2014) in his first and second title defenses.
Against Porter, Thurman will now get a chance to prove what he’s been claiming for years – that he’s the world’s best welterweight – in the toughest test of his career.
“Showtime” Porter has built one of the most impressive resumes in the division since making his welterweight debut in 2010. Mete, who surprisingly turned professional as a super middleweight (168 liv), won the IBF crown in 2013 with an impressive unanimous decision over Devon Alexander.
The physically-gifted and offensive-minded Ohio native knocked out former two-division world champion Paulie Malignaggi with a brutal clean right hand in April of 2014 in the lone defense of his title. Porter lost the IBF belt less than four months after the Malignaggi victory in a close majority decision defeat to undefeated British superstar Kell Brook, but he bounced back with a fifth-round knockout of Erick Bone in March of 2015. Porter scored what many considered an upset victory in his next bout over then three-division world champion Adrien Broner with a clear unanimous decision last Jen 20 nan Las Vegas.
The aggressive, come-forward Porter has built his career as a perennial underdog who relishes in the role. Men,, with the resume he has built, it’s hard to consider him an underdog anymore heading into this crossroads showdown with Thurman.
Biyè pou evènman an ap viv, ki se ankouraje pa DiBella Lwazi-, yo pwi a $300, $150, $75 ak $35 (plis frè aplikab) and Ticketmaster are on sale now. Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com; apèl (800) 745-3000; or visit any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets will also be available at the Mohegan Sun Box Office starting Saturday, Janvye 23, subject to availability.
Chotim Networks Inc. (SNI), yon sipòtè nèt-posede nan CBS Corporation, posede ak opere rezo yo televizyon prim chotim®, MOVIE kanal la™ ak Flix®, epi tou li ofri chotim Sou demann®, MOVIE kanal la™ Sou demann ak FLIX sou demann®, ak otantifikasyon sèvis chotim nenpòt lè rezo a®. Chotim Digital Inc., yon sipòtè nèt-posede nan SNI, opere-kanpe pou kont difizyon sèvis la chotim®. SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS ak founisè telco, ak kòm yon sèvis difizyon-kanpe pou kont nan Apple®, Ane®, Amazon and Google. Konsomatè kapab tou abònman nan chotim atravè lmondefr, Sony pletasyon® Vue and Amazon Prime Video. SNI tou jere Smithsonian Rezo™, yon antrepriz ant SNI ak Enstitisyon Smithsonian, ki ofri Smithsonian Channel™ and Smithsonian Earth™, a SN Digital LLC. SNI mache epi distribye espò ak evènman amizman pou egzibisyon nan abonnés sou yon baz nan chotim peyant peye-chak-view. Pou plis enfòmasyon, ale nan www.SHO.com.
