The Hauser Report: Showtime Says Goodbye to Boxing and More Notes

Published

1 year ago

December 17, 2023

The-Hauser-Report-Showtime-Says-Goodbye-to-Boxing-and-More-Notes

On October 17, Paramount Global announced that it was closing the Showtime sports department and shutting down the network’s boxing program after a 37-year run.

Showtime televised its first fight on March 15, 1986 – a replay of Marvelous Marvin Hagler’s eleventh-round knockout of John Mugabi five days earlier. In the years that followed, it televised more than two thousand fights. In the early-1990’s, the network turned its boxing programming over to Don King in order to gain rights to Mike Tyson’s fights. More recently, Premier Boxing Champions enjoyed favored status.

Showtime was the launching pad for UK imports like Naseem Hamed, Ricky Hatton, and Joe Calzaghe in the United States. Its most notable telecasts included numerous Mike Tyson outings, the first fight between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo, Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez, and the “Super Six” super-middleweight championship tournament that saw the emergence of Andre Ward as the best 168-pound fighter in the world. It collaborated with HBO to produce Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, and Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko, and advanced the careers of myriad young prospects on ShoBox: The New Generation.

Steve Albert, Ferdie Pacheco, Al Bernstein, Steve Farhood, Barry Tompkins, Nick Charles, and Paulie Malignaggi were among the quality commentators who contributed to the soundtrack that the network provided for the contemporary boxing scene.

Less laudably, Showtime reveled in the highly lucrative but homophobic-misogynistic-fueled promotion of Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor. And in recent years, it shifted an increasing number of fan-friendly fights from “regular” Showtime to Showtime-PPV.

Like HBO, Showtime ended its sojourn through boxing with a mundane fight card. HBO’s final offering (on December 8, 2018) was a pedestrian event that featured Cecelia Braekhus, Claressa Shields, and Juan Francisco Estrada. On December 16, Showtime gave us David Morrell vs. Sena Agbeko, Chris Colbert vs. Jose Valenzuela, and Andre Berto vs. Robert Guerrero.

The show opened with Berto-Guerrero. Berto has won two fights dating back to 2015 and had last fought more than five years ago. Guerrero had lost five of eleven bouts dating back to 2013. Both men are forty years old and, on Saturday night, they fought like it. Guerrero won a 99-91, 98-92, 98-92 decision over the course of ten dreary rounds.

Then Jose Valenzuela (who was coming in off two losses in a row) knocked Chris Colbert unconscious with a right hook in round six.

In the finale, David Morrell (a 12-to-1 favorite) stopped a woefully overmatched Sena Agbeko at 1:43 of the second stanza. Agbeko was never in the fight.

The telecast began with a short video montage of images from past Showtime fights followed by remarks about the occasion from Brian Custer. After Berto-Guerrero, there was a brief video tribute to the sport of boxing. Later in the telecast, Steve Farhood narrated a segment on the history of ShoBox.

The members of the announcing team spent a lot of time praising each other. There was no acknowledgement of Jay Larkin (a key architect of Showtime’s boxing program). Nor was Steve Albert (Showtime’s blow-by-blow commentator for twenty years) or Ferdie Pacheco (who was paired with Albert) mentioned. A tip of the hat to Ken Hershman (who succeeded Larkin as president of Showtime Sports), Don King (who was a big part of Showtime Boxing), and other key figures in the network’s boxing program who were ignored would also have been appropriate.

But back to the fights. Goodbyes are important. It would have been better if Showtime Boxing had ended its run with its November 25, 2023, telecast of David Benavidez vs. Demetrius Andrade. Benavidez turned in a star-making performance that night. That would have been a good note to end on with Showtime telling its subscribers, “We brought you some great moments in the past. Now here’s a glimpse of boxing’s future.”

****

There was a time when club fights were boxing’s lifeblood and New York City was home to several fight cards each week. On the night that Showtime bade farewell to the sweet science, Larry Goldberg promoted his ninth club-fight card at Sony Hall in New York.

Goldberg is the only promoter now running fight cards on a regular basis in New York. This was his ninth show at Sony Hall in the past fourteen months and he has three dates penciled in for the first six months of 2024.

Too many club fights cards today consist almost exclusively of non-competitive beatdowns. Two of the six fights on Goldberg’s card were particularly good match-ups.

Jacob Riley Solis (a 32-year-old New Yorker who was making his pro debut) took on Tevin Terrance (a 1-and-0 import from Canada). Terrance fought with all-out aggression and scored a knockdown in the first stanza. Solis has a weak jab that needs to be reconstructed and a good right hand. In round three, the right hands started landing and Terrance was counted out.

Cristian Otero (6-4, 2 KOs) vs. Yeuri Andujar (5-6-1, 3 KOs, 3 KOs by) was another competitive action fight. Andujar came into the ring with four losses and a draw in his last five outings. But those numbers are deceiving in that he’d been overmatched against prospects like Bruce Carrington and Robeisy Ramirez. Otero is a club fighter who gives an honest effort every time out. Andujar dropped Otero in round two and finished him with a brutal right hand in round four.

I’d much rather see evenly-matched club fighters who put everything they have into fights that they can win than a parade of mismatches.

***

The International Boxing Hall of Fame recently announced its inductees for 2024. I was disappointed that Flip Homansky (who was on the ballot for the first time) wasn’t chosen for induction. My sense is that too many of the electors don’t understand the trailblazing contributions that Dr Homansky made in advancing the health and safety of fighters during his years at the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

I’d also like to address what I believe is an injustice regarding two men who have never been on the ballot.

Gerry Cooney won his first 23 fights before losing to Larry Holmes on a night when Holmes was as good as he’d ever been or would be ever again. Plagued by substance abuse problems that he conquered after leaving boxing, Cooney retired after losses to Michael Spinks and George Foreman. The only three men to beat him in a boxing ring were first-ballot Hall of Famers. Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler ranks Cooney among the top twenty heavyweights of all time.

Cooney never won a world championship. But neither did Jimmy Bivins, Charley Burley, Billy Graham, Cocoa Kid, Lloyd Marshall, Holman Williams, and others who are enshrined in Canastota. He deserved to be on the ballot ahead of Jorge Arce, Vuyani Bungu, Yuri Arbachakov, Leo Gamez, Miguel Lora, Orzubek Navarov and some of the other nominees.

Cedric Kushner was a significant player on the boxing scene for decades. He was best known for promoting heavyweights like Hasim Rahman, Shannon Briggs, Chris Byrd, Ike Ibeabuchi, Jameel McCline, Derrick Jefferson, Kirk Johnson, Axel Schulz, and David Tua, but also built stars like Shane Mosley in other weight classes.

Dan Goossen, Klaus-Peter Kohl, Tito Lectoure, and Mogens Palle are in the Hall of Fame. Kushner was their equal as a promoter and deserved to be on the ballot.

****

The holiday sentiment of peace on Earth seems sadly out of reach this year. But I’d like to recount a story that Yuri Foreman told me years ago.

Foreman was born in Belarus. When he was eleven, his family moved to Israel.

“At first it was difficult,” Yuri recalled. “I was missing my friends. And sometimes in Israel, there was discrimination between the Russians and the Jews. The Russians were also Jewish, but the Israelis would call us Russians and say we didn’t deserve to be there, so there would be fights in school between the immigrants and the Israelis.”

Foreman learned the rudiments of boxing in an outdoor lot. There was no ring, not even a heavy bag.

“They wouldn’t give us a gym because we were just Russians,” he remembered. “We went to City Hall and begged for a place to hang a bag and put up a ring. All they told us was, ‘Go box with the Arabs.’ So finally I went to the Arab gym. The first time I walked in, I saw the stares. In their eyes, there was a lot of hatred. But I needed to box. And boy, did they all want to box me. But after a while, the wall that was between us melted. We all wanted the same thing. I traveled with them as teammates. It helped that I won almost all the time. And finally, we became friends.”

Foreman won the WBA 154-pound title in 2009 by decision over Daniel Santos. Shortly before that fight, the father of one of the boys Yuri had boxed with in the Arab gym called and told him, ‘We follow your career. We’re all rooting for you. We’ll be very proud when you become a champion. After you win, we want you to come to our village for a celebration and we’ll kill the nicest of the sheep for you.”

David Morrell photo compliments of Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – The Universal Sport: Two Years Inside Boxing – was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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Thomas Hauser

Thomas Hauser is the author of 52 books. In 2005, he was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America, which bestowed the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism upon him. He was the first Internet writer ever to receive that award. In 2019, Hauser was chosen for boxing's highest honor: induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Lennox Lewis has observed, “A hundred years from now, if people want to learn about boxing in this era, they’ll read Thomas Hauser.”

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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

Published

1 day ago

March 30, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.

The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.

Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.

Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.

Co-Feature

In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.

The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.

A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.

Other Bouts

In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.

Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.

Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.

Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.

Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.

Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.

Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.

Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.

There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

Published

1 day ago

March 29, 2025

David A. Avila

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.

There were no knockdowns in this rematch.

The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.

It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.

Nothing changed in their second meeting.

Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.

The blows came in bunches.

In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.

Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.

Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.

During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.

But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.

“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.

Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.

“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.

Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.

“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.

Female Flyweight Battle

Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.

Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.

Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.

The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.

Neither fighter could take over the fight.

After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.

Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.

Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.

Puerto Rico vs Mexico

Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.

Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Published

3 days ago

March 28, 2025

David A. Avila

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Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.

Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.

Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.

ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.

“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.

If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.

For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.

Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.

No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.

Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.

The fight breakdown

Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.

Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.

That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.

More drama.

During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.

New York City got its money’s worth.

Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.

Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?

“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”

Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.

That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?

Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.

Can she draw enough of that fire out again?

“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”

Co-Main in Las Vegas

The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.

Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.

Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.

Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.

Golden Boy in Cancun

A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.

In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.

Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.

Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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