Devoted boxing fans have long been clamoring for marquee matchups featuring some of the sport’s most gifted fighters. Those fans are about to get their wish.
Showtime Sports today announced five highly intriguing fight cards, four of which will feature a half-dozen world championship bouts presented in association with Premier Boxing Champions.
The fight feast begins December 10 with a pair of highly-anticipated title showdowns from the Galen Center on the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles. In the main event, Jesus Cuellar (28-1, 21 KOs) will defend his 126-pound title against former three-division champion Abner Mares (29-2-1, 15 KOs). Prior to that, Jermall Charlo (24-0, 18 KOs) will risk his 154-pound crown against No. 1 contender Julian Williams (22-0-1, 14 KOs).
The championship action continues January 14, when 168-pound titleholders Badou Jack (20-12, 12 KOs) and James DeGale (13-1, 14 KOs) clash in a long-awaited unification showdown.
Two weeks later, on January 28, 126-pound champion Carl Frampton (23-0, 14 KOs) and Leo Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18 KOs) will square off in a rematch of their scintillating July 30 slugfest in which Frampton earned a majority decision to claim Santa Cruz’s crown and become a two-time world champion. Also that night, Dejan Zlaticanin (18-0, 11 KOs) will make the first defense of his 135-pound title against former two-division titlist Mikey Garcia (35-0, 29 KOs).
Then on February 11, former four-time world champion Adrien Broner (32-2, 24 KOs) will return to the ring against Adrian Granados (18-4-2, 12 KOs) in a non-title bout. That will be followed by yet another title-unification rumble March 4, when 147-pound champions Keith Thurman (27-0, 22 KOs) and Danny Garcia (32-0, 18 KOs) meet in a long-rumored, highly anticipated clash.
Combined, the six world championship matchups scheduled for December 10, January 14, January 26 and March 4 will feature fighters with a combined record of 313-6-5.
“This is a slate of high-level, evenly-matched, 50-50 fights—the best fighting the best—which has become the calling card of Showtime Championship Boxing,” said Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports. “Every fight we are announcing today features a top 10-ranked champion taking on a top 10-ranked challenger; in many cases, it’s top-five vs. top-five.”
Visit our fight pages for complete coverage of Cuellar vs Mares, Charlo vs Williams, Jack vs DeGale, Frampton vs Santa Cruz, Zlaticanin vs Diaz, Broner vs Granados and Garcia vs Thurman. And stay tuned to PremierBoxingChampions.com for updates regarding location, times and ticket information for all of these world-class fight cards.
Showtime Sports announced Tuesday several marquee title fights, including the Carl Frampton-Leo Santa Cruz rematch on January 28 and the Keith Thurman-Danny Garcia unification bout on March 4. (Photo illustration by Paul Palmer/Premier Boxing Champions)
