Andre Berto-Josesito Lopez And Shawn Porter-Roberto Garcia Eyed For March 13, Spike TV
- Thread starter Big Boss
- Start date
Stephen Espinoza has to be depressed ass hell.
Al Haymon to unveil Spike TV series
One week after NBC announced a multiyear deal with powerful adviser and manager Al Haymon that includes the return of boxing to network primetime, Haymon will unveil another television deal with cable network Spike TV on Thursday, multiple sources with knowledge of the series told ESPN.com.
- Dan Rafael [ARCHIVE]
- ESPN.com | January 21, 2015
A news conference is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Spike TV headquarters in Santa Monica, California, although virtually no boxing media has been invited, which is similar to last week's announcement of the NBC series in New York.
In a deal similar to the one with NBC, Haymon, with tens of millions of dollars (some estimate he has as much as a $100 million war chest) from investors backing him, is buying the airtime to present bouts under the banner of his "Premier Boxing Champions" series, same as the NBC shows, as he continues his quest to change the landscape of the boxing business.
The first of multiple Spike TV cards -- the number of shows is unclear -- will take place March 13 at a location to be announced, the sources said.
The first card is slated to be headlined by former welterweight titleholder Andre Berto (29-3, 22 KOs) squaring off with fringe contender Josesito Lopez (33-6, 19 KOs). A bout between former welterweight titleholder Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs) and Roberto Garcia (36-3, 23 KOs) is being planned as the co-feature. The level of the bouts on the first Spike card is a bit less than the what was announced for the first two NBC cards but they still appear to be competitive, exciting fights on paper.
The Spike cards will air on Friday nights and compete with ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights."
Berto rebounded from back-to-back losses to Robert Guerrero and Jesus Soto Karass -- and subsequent shoulder surgery because of an injury suffered against Soto Karass -- to outpoint Steve Upsher in September.
Lopez earned the nickname "The Riverside Rocky" -- he's from Riverside, California -- after his ninth-round knockout of former welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz in a major upset in 2012. He parlayed that win into a big money fight with then-junior middleweight titlist Canelo Alvarez and got knocked out by the much bigger man in the fifth round. A sixth-round knockout loss to Marcos Maidana followed, but Lopez is riding a three-fight winning streak since against lesser opposition.
Porter is coming off losing his world title by decision to England's Kell Brook in August. Since a decision loss to former welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito in 2010, Garcia has won eight fights in a row.
Haymon, who manages or advises more than 150 fighters, is not a licensed promoter, so the cards will be promoted by the companies he works closely with, including Warriors Boxing, Goossen Promotions and DiBella Entertainment.
Nobody from Haymon's organization was available for comment. Some of the fighters and members of their teams declined comment. A spokesman from Spike TV also declined to comment.
Haymon's NBC deal calls for 20 shows this year, including five cards on NBC on Saturday nights, six on NBC on Saturday afternoons and the remaining nine in prime time on NBC Sports Network.
The NBC series will kick off March 7 in NBC primetime at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with welterweight titlist Keith Thurman (24-0, 21 KOs) facing former two-division titleholder Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KOs) and former three-division titleholder Adrien Broner (29-1, 22 KOs) facing John Molina (27-5, 22 KOs) in the junior welterweight co-feature.
The second card, slated for April 11 at an East Coast site to be determined and also on NBC in primetime, will pit junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs) against titleholder Lamont Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs) in a nontitle bout at 143 pounds.
http://m.espn.go.com/extra/boxing/story?storyId=12209302&src=desktop
It was nice knowing you Friday Night Fights
I'll be tuned into the Premier Boxing Champions on Spike
blackestofpanthers
God forgives, you are forgiven.
It's crazy to me that berto only has 3 losses. For some reason i imagine his record being like 24-6
It was nice knowing you Friday Night Fights
I'll be tuned into the Premier Boxing Champions on Spike
Thought my thread got deleted but it got merged :hoganpraise: & no more Teddy crazy ass n boring new guy who hosts
nah Teddy is one of the last bastions of boxing fukkery breh....dude makes FNF with his old man drunken fukkery..esp if you've been to one and seen it live and in person
People act like he's that bad, but Berto is still a good fighter....just not elite or very good. He's somewhere between above average and good.
blackestofpanthers
God forgives, you are forgiven.
Seeing him get beat down against soto karass was
though. No way berto should lose to a guy like that.
GREENandYELLOW
2x...and defending
Haymon's master plan is really looking amazing.
I wonder how Showtime cards will look this year. The fights he has announced for NBC and Spike would all be solid Showtime cards.
Maybe he has so many fighters this will allow him to get more fights and airtime and Showtime will still get their cards...but right now Showtime is losing some good bouts.
I wonder how Showtime cards will look this year. The fights he has announced for NBC and Spike would all be solid Showtime cards.
Maybe he has so many fighters this will allow him to get more fights and airtime and Showtime will still get their cards...but right now Showtime is losing some good bouts.
Its not that he 3 losses because 3 losses isn't really that big of a deal; with Berto is a combination of the hype that he had coming up plus the way he lost those fights. Getting KO'd by a Soto Karas is not a good look and then being beat by Guerrero and Ortiz in two fights that were supposed to be "coming out" parties for Berto are what has people looking at him like
.
if berto had brains he would be a good fighter...dude is between average and good...good when his athleticism overpowers his opponent or saves his ass...average when somebody can box him up
Nah losing to Karass means you're triddash. Its one thing for soto to make it a competitive fight, but for him to shyt on you is
Nah losing to Karass means you're triddash. Its one thing for soto to make it a competitive fight, but for him to shyt on you is
its amazing to me that soto karass, who is an average puncher, and guerrero, who has yet to score a welter stoppage, both physically beat the shyt out of berto....even more than ortiz who can actually punch..thats wild to me
Its not that he 3 losses because 3 losses isn't really that big of a deal; with Berto is a combination of the hype that he had coming up plus the way he lost those fights. Getting KO'd by a Soto Karas is not a good look and then being beat by Guerrero and Ortiz in two fights that were supposed to be "coming out" parties for Berto are what has people looking at him like
Nah losing to Karass means you're triddash. Its one thing for soto to make it a competitive fight, but for him to shyt on you is
I agree with you all, but the Soto-Karass fight he definitely fought wrong. Hell, in all of Berto's losses he fought wrong because he has no defense
He's a brawler with no defense
He's not a FNF type of opponent though (just going by his skills) and that's kinda what I meant by saying he's above average. He's nowhere near elite or very good, but he's not a walk over nor a gatekeeper just yet either.
He's on the same level of a Diego Chaves imo...not a Top 10 Welterweight but not outside the top 15 either.