Showtime supremo Stephen Espinoza believes that the network’s and PBC’s acquisition of Canelo Alvarez will allow the undisputed super-middleweight king to deliver for the fans with fights the public deserves.
Last month, Canelo announced that he was joining Premier Boxing Champions and the showtime network following a mutual split from Matchroom Boxing, which has been involved with Canelo in various capacities for many years since 2017.
It was further announced on June 30th that Canelo would face Jermell Charlo in the battle of the undisputed champions as the current super-welterweight champion moves up two weight divisions to face the Mexican. It was originally speculated that Canelo would face the brother of Jermell and current WBC middleweight champion, Jermall. However, injuries and personal issues prevented that particular contest from happening. Canelo vs Charlo is heavily slated to be held on September 30th, likely to be held at the A&T Stadium in Texas or a venue in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Espinoza spoke to K.O Artist Sports regarding Canelo’s recent switch to the platform after being one of the headline acts on rival platform DAZN. He feels that Canelo’s move to Showtime brings flexibility to the deal which Canelo signed with the network and that Canelo is motivated to fight the biggest fights possible that the network has to offer.
“I think we’re closer to that possibility today than we were a couple of months ago,” he said. Espinoza believes Canelo “is not a guy who shies away from challenges”.
“There is a lot of flexibility in that agreement; nothing is written in stone. Things can change. I don’t want to put words in Canelo’s mouth, but the motivation clearly seems to be the fact that there are a lot of appetizing fights, really interesting.
“That’s why he decided to go for several fights with the company and not just for one. It’s easier for marketing. And whether it’s Jermell, Jermall, Benavidez, Andrade or Spence, they’re all great fights. And that was the appeal in signing for more than one fight.”
