Former Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza has confirmed his involvement with Premier Boxing Champions ahead of the launch on March 30 of their partnership with Amazon Prime.
The first broadcast of their collaboration, following Showtime’s departure from boxing after 37 years, is Tim Tszyu-Keith Thurman at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas – an occasion Espinoza believes can trigger the transformation of the sport in which he has long been such an influential figure.
“I have a lot of close friends who have done a lot of business with PBC, and they are going through a transitional period into an agreement, which is a phenomenal opportunity,” he told The Boxing Voice.
“I think it is an opportunity which could change the trajectory of the sport and put itself in front of a lot of people which it hasn’t been in front of.
“You’re going from a network that has been involved in boxing for almost 40 years. It’s normal to assume many things from PR to marketing to social media, but now you’ve got to build that entire structure.
“So I’m helping them do that. We’ll see what the future holds, but for the time being, I’m just part of the team that’s making sure that this event [Tszyu-Thurman] comes off as smoothly as it can.”
Rolando Romero defends his WBA super lightweight title against Isaac Cruz on the undercard of Tszyu-Thurman.
“I’m not president of anything,” Espinoza said. “I don’t have a department, but my role is a collaboration role where I am helping put together a new team of people.
“The network [Showtime] has been producing these fights and events for the last 37 years, and with Amazon working on these pay-per-view and non-pay-per-view deals, PBC will be producing them.
“So we have got to put together a team. A marketing team, a social media team and a production team. That is what I am helping PBC do. Finding good people with a good opportunity and helping structure the telecasts so it looks fresh, new and something to be proud of going forward.”
