5 of the most memorable fights in Showtime Boxing championship history
At the end of 2023, boxing will no longer be shown on Showtime. We look at five of the most memorable fights in Showtime Boxing history.
If one thing is for sure in life, it’s that things are bound to change. Sports are just like life in that things operate differently from era to era. After weeks of rumors, 2023 will mark the last year that Showtime Sports will air combat sports on its airwaves. The entire Showtime Sports division will be shut down, meaning there will be no more boxing or MMA shown on the network.
Boxing has been part of the Showtime network since 1986, providing fans with some of the most significant fights of the last few generations. The signing of Mike Tyson in the 1990s and Floyd Mayweather Jr in the 2010s closed any perceived gap with its then-network rival HBO.
Along with its championship boxing series, Showtime’s Shobox: The New Generation put a spotlight on upcoming prospects. This program, in particular, will be what is missed the most.
The decision by Showtime’s parent company, Paramount Global, isn’t as surprising as potentially detrimental. It leaves a looming question about where the sport is headed and its future.
However, since boxing moved primarily into the premium network market of HBO and Showtime in the 1980s and 1990s, its audience has diminished in size with few outliers.
The sweet science used to be considered one of the few major sports in the United States. It sat right beside football, baseball, and basketball. Now, the only headlines on major sports networks the sport receives are when Jake Paul or Canelo Alvarez are fighting. That isn’t enough and hasn’t been sustainable.
In 2017, one year before HBO chose to end its relationship with Boxing, longtime promoter and the head of Top Rank promotions, Bob Arum, foresaw that keeping his fighters on HBO was a dead-end and moved his stable to ESPN.
“Nothing against HBO and Showtime,” Arum told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2017. But they are premium channels that mostly do entertainment and a little bit of sports and Boxing. They are not sports stations, and no one covers sports better than ESPN.”
Premier Boxing Champions has been the leading content supplier for Showtime Sports for over a decade. The company headed by Al Haymon will be looking at other avenues to broadcast their fights, such as Amazon Prime or even DAZN. There will be just two more boxing telecasts on the network. David Benavidez will take on Demetrius Andrade on November 25th and one yet-to-be-determined show on December 9th.
With the impending demise of Showtime Sports on the horizon, the drums of the death of Boxing can be heard rumbling again. That notion has existed since Muhammad Ali’s retirement in the early 1980s. However, some fundamental changes need to take place to keep the sport competitive in today’s streaming marketplace.
The future of Boxing is in a fog, but the history and legacy that Showtime Championship Boxing left on the sport is clear. Fansided MMA will take a look at five of the most memorable bouts to take place on the network.
5. Marvelous Marvin Hagler vs. John “The Beast” Mugabi — March 10, 1986
Four decades later, the very first Showtime boxing event is still one of its most memorable. In what would be one of the final appearances of one the sport’s most respected practitioners, Marvelous Marvin Hagler would defend his undisputed middleweight crown against the undefeated power puncher John “The Beast” Mugabi.
Remarkably, the then-number-one-rated Mugabi had a perfect knockout record. He scored stoppages in all 25 of his previous bouts.
Although known primarily for his power, Mugabi was also an Olympic silver medalist, having fought for his native Uganda in 1980.
Hagler was attempting the 12th defense of his middleweight titles. In his previous match, Hagler stopped Thomas Hearns in three rounds in what is still considered one of the greatest fights in history.
The fight with Mugabi would show Hagler’s vulnerability in his growing age. More importantly, it would highlight his continued resolve and will to win. Hagler and Mugabi would trade blows in an action-filled fight. The middleweight champion almost stopped the power puncher in an unforgettable sixth round.
Hagler would get the stoppage in the 11th round.
4. Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo — May 07, 2005
Nothing else needs to be said about the war between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo in May 2005. The fight speaks for itself.
The lightweight unification match between the two best in the division was a gift to hardcore boxing fans.
While the match is often remembered for its shocking and controversial ending, the majority of the fight was a clinic on inside fighting. The punishment exchanged showed itself on both fighters’ faces.
It was just as violent as it was aesthetically pleasing to watch. The fight satisfies those who thirst for pure action and those who demand their fighters administer skill.
As the rounds went by, the fight was heading to an epic conclusion, with the eighth and ninth rounds increasing in intensity. In the 10th round, one of the warriors finally succumbed to the abuse administered when Castillo landed a perfect left hook that sent Corrales down for the first of two knockdowns.
The controversy comes when Corrales spits his mouthpiece out after both knockdowns. This action allowed him to gain more recovery time. Possibly thinking the fight was over, Castillo led his guard down, allowing Corrales to stage a rally starting with a left hook.
Corrales took advantage and unloaded a barrage of punches on his rival, forcing the referee, Tony Weeks, to stop the fight and saving Castillo from further punches.
The ending was shocking, exciting, and contentious wrapped all together. But the biggest takeaway for those who saw the fight live was that they may have just witnessed the best fight in history. It was a moment when you were thankful to be a boxing fan.
3. Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez 3 — March 01, 2008
It’s difficult to imagine anything coming close to the sheer savagery and attraction showcased by Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo.
However, over a span of a year, Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez put on a trilogy of fights that stamped them in boxing history. The third fight, especially, was arguably the best of their encounters.
Before moving up to the super bantamweight division, Marquez was considered the best bantamweight in boxing. He held victories over Mark Johnson, Tim Austin, and Silence Mabuza. Vasquez fought in the super bantamweight division for most of his career and had the WBC championship.
Both fighters had a history of being a part of entertaining bouts. So, the anticipation that Vazquez-Marquez could deliver something special was high.
In their first two bouts, they traded stoppages. Marquez won by 7th-round stoppage after Vazquez chose not to continue due to breathing problems from a broken nose.
The second match was even better, with a bloodied Vazquez battling with cuts over his eyes to stop his foe in six rounds. Marquez proved to be the fighter with the better technique. He consistently landed accurate pin-point combinations. In contrast, Vazquez was the harder puncher, flooring Marquez in both fights.
Their third battle would take it to the next stratosphere.
Neither man scored a stoppage, but Marquez knocked down Vazquez in the third match, altering the dynamic from their two previous bouts. In a fight with several swing rounds that saw both combatants have their moments, the final round would be the deciding factor.
In the final moments of the 12th round, Vazquez hurt Marquez, sending him into the ropes. The ropes assisted Marquez from going down, and the referee gave him an eight count. Those final moments were what separated the two fighters on the judge’s scorecards.
Vazquez would win a split-decision victory.
2. Juan Manuel Lopez vs. Orlando Salido 2 — March 10, 2012
The rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico has always supplied boxing with notable and often historic fights. There were times during Showtime’s tenure with boxing when they didn’t often have the most well-known names fighting on their network.
That didn’t prevent them from producing outstanding clashes. Many of them are underrated and not as celebrated as others.
In the early 2010s, Juan Manuel Lopez was viewed as the next potential star out of Puerto Rico. He was likened to a super-bantamweight version of Felix Trinidad.
He had the same charisma and power in both hands as the legendary Trinidad. However, what he lacked was the conditioning and technique of his idol.
After making five defenses of his WBO super bantamweight title, Lopez moved up to the featherweight division, where he would win another championship. Although he held some solid victories over Rafael Marquez, Daniel Ponce de Leon, and Steven Luevano, Lopez was fortunate to have fought some fighters past their prime.
Lopez’s luck would run out when he ran into veteran Orlando Salido in April 2011. Salido wasn’t a protected fighter and had been in the ring with high-level fighters like Juan Manuel Marquez, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and Robert Guerrero.
Undeterred by Lopez’s reputation or power, Salido would travel to Puerto Rico and stop him in eight rounds. The first match was supposed to be another title defense to keep Lopez busy, but Salido had other plans.
Less than a year later, in March 2012, Salido and Lopez met again in Puerto Rico. The rematch would eclipse their first fight tenfold due to the combatants and the boisterous crowd that hung on to every punch.
Salido’s unorthodox ability to throw wide hook combinations in the mid-range kept him in the lead. Lopez was always in the fight with his power, and in the fifth round, a short right hook sent Salido to the canvas.
The toe-to-toe action would only increase every round, with the ninth stanza being a highlight. Each blow exchanged by the two took more out of Lopez than Salido.
The end came at the beginning of the 10th with a vicious and beautiful three-punch combination from Salido that was punctuated with an uppercut. Lopez would get back up on wobbly legs, unable to keep his balance. The referee would stop the fight almost immediately.
The second match between Salido and Lopez exemplified the best of boxing on Showtime. It gave a stage to two fighters who might not have been provided that chance before in front of a crowd that elevated the entire experience.
1. Marcos Maidana vs. Adrien Broner — December 14, 2013
Few fighters in boxing have been as divisive as Adrien Broner. He has garnered a fanbase that supports him, but many watch his fights to see him lose. Much of that might be his own doing due to his never-ending trash talk and, at times, bordering on a delusional level of confidence.
When the four-division titlist stepped into the ring against the power-punching Marcos Maidana to defend his WBA welterweight title in December 2013, he was drawing comparisons to Floyd Mayweather as the next big star in boxing.
Maidana was in a career renaissance. Following a loss to Devon Alexander in 2012, he almost quit the sport entirely. An alliance with trainer Robert Garcia reignited him and put him on Broner’s path following wins over Jesus Soto Karass and Josesito Lopez.
Heading into the fight as five to one favorite, Broner would face multiple opponents. He also had to handle a hostile crowd. The crowd in attendance at the Alamodome in San Antonio was entirely behind the Maidana, cheering every punch he threw.
The arena almost exploded when Maidana knocked Broner down for the first time in his career at that point with a left hook. The power puncher was able to take advantage of Broner’s low-volume output and batter him to the head and body.
Broner responded to Maidana’s pressure and attacks by countering between exchanges in several rounds. He found more success when he was the aggressor. However, Maidana scored another knockdown in the eighth round, essentially solidifying his victory.
Maidana would be awarded the unanimous decision in what would be named the Ring Magazine Upset of the Year in 2013. He took the WBA welterweight title and Broner’s undefeated record.
A decade earlier, fans celebrated when Marco Antonio Barrera defeated Naseem Hamed. In that same vein, Maidana’s win over Broner stands as one of the more satisfying fights of the 2010s.
It was a fight where the supposed villain got his comeuppance. But, it would be unfair to deny that Broner fought bravely that night and, in some ways, earned a level of respect he hadn’t had before.
Originally published at FansidedMMA on October 20, 2023