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Showtime to air Joshua bout Dec. 10

Photo courtesy of Matchroom Boxing.
Fighters Network
26
Oct

Showtime’s rollout of its 2016-17 schedule on Tuesday included fighters from six different weight classes.

But one division that was conspicuously absent was at heavyweight, where the network has invested seriously in heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua. Showtime intends to distribute Joshua’s upcoming bout on Dec. 10 from Manchester, England but didn’t feel comfortable adding his name to Tuesday’s offerings because he doesn’t have a dance partner yet, according to Showtime exec Stephen Espinoza.

“We will be telecasting Anthony’s fight on Dec. 10,” Espinoza told RingTV.com on Tuesday. “He wasn’t part of the slate simply because the opponent has not been announced. We plan on continuing our relationship with Anthony for a long, long time, including Dec. 10. Anthony Joshua will continue to be a big part of our plans going forward.”

Espinoza spoke to Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn and said the list of candidates for his Dec. 10 fight have been whittled down to: Eric Molina, David Price and Bryant Jennings. Joshua was in talks to face Wladimir Klitschko on Dec. 10, but Klitschko pulled out of the talks, citing a minor injury and a need to push back the fight for promotional purposes. The fight between Joshua and Klitschko is now being discussed for the spring and Espinoza says Showtime will be an active bidder to get the massive match-up on his airwaves.



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