Showtime’s parent company Paramount Global decided to shut down Showtime Sports in October, thus ending the premium cable provider’s 37-year run producing boxing shows.

Showtime televised its first boxing show on March 10, 1986, and it will air its final broadcast on December 16, 2023.

To commemorate Showtime’s remarkable run in the sport, Ring Magazine presents to you a four-part oral history and retrospective featuring some of the key principals who helped shape the network’s coverage of boxing for nearly four decades.

Part 1 

• Jim Gray, ringside reporter, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, 31 years with Showtime
• Al Bernstein, ringside analyst, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, 20 years with Showtime
• Steve Farhood, analyst, boxing historian, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, 22 years with Showtime
• Steve Albert, play by play announcer, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, 24 years with Showtime

Part 2 

• Stephen Espinoza, president of sports and event programming, 12 years with Showtime
• Chris DeBlasio, senior vice president of sports and communication, 18 years with Showtime
• David Dinkins, executive producer, 37 years with Showtime
• Gordon Hall, senior vice president of production, executive producer of SHOBOX: The New Generation, 34 years with Showtime
• Sheila Mills, senior vice president, sports marketing, 36 years with Showtime
• Brian Dailey, senior vice president sports and digital, 10 years with Showtime

Part 3 

• Barry Tompkins, play by play announcer, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, 11 years with Showtime
• Brian Custer, host, 10 years with Showtime
• Brian Campbell, ringside analyst and reporter, 5 years with Showtime
• Raul Marquez, former junior middleweight champion; SHOBOX and Spanish simulcast ringside analyst, 12 years with Showtime
• Alejandro Luna, host, Spanish simulcast play by play announcer, 12 years with Showtime

Part 4 

• Robert Dunphy, director, 37 years with Showtime
• Raymond B. Smaltz III, senior producer and replay director, 36 years with Showtime
• Chuck McKean, senior associate producer and director, 32 years with Showtime
• Michael Teodoru, associate producer, 30 years with Showtime
• Colin DeFord, technical producer, 33 years with Showtime

End of an era: An oral history of Showtime’s 37 years in boxing: Part 2

The following interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Showtime’s final boxing broadcast marks the end of a magnificent era. What do you think set Showtime apart from others during its 37-year run in the sport?

Stephen Espinoza, president of sports and event programming, 12 years with Showtime: What set Showtime apart was the fighter-first, fight-centric approach. The fighters – not the promoters, networks, or announcers – were always the focus. Fighters were allowed to tell their own stories rather than being forced into predetermined narratives. All fights, from streaming prelims to ShoBox opening fights to PPV main events, were treated with care, diligence and respect; no fight was treated as “less than.” The announcers called the fight action objectively, without bias or favoritism. Showtime fight coverage was geared toward the true fight fan.

David Dinkins, executive producer, 37 years with Showtime: Our love of the sport and dedication to the art of broadcasting, coverage and commentary.

Gordon Hall, senior vice president of production, executive producer of SHOBOX: The New Generation, 34 years with Showtime: The longevity, the quality of the productions and the people. Thirty seven years is a good run by any measure. We were able to hire the best talent, production and engineering personnel, some who have been with us for over 30 years. There is no better boxing producer than David Dinkins. He mandated that we are always technically and creatively state of the art. Our core production staff including Bob Dunphy, Ray Smaltz, Chuck McKean, Mike Teodoru, Colin DeFord and technical engineers – too many to mention – treated every show as if it was a Super Bowl. 

Chris DeBlasio, senior vice president of sports and communication, 18 years with Showtime: What made Showtime Boxing so special was the people. From freelancer production team members to junior staff members, to department leadership, our collective goal was a commitment to excellence and a dedication to the sport stemming from an immeasurable respect for the fighters. The tone was set long before I began at Showtime in 2005. It was clear from watching my teammates from my very first event that we set out to present every boxing telecast on Showtime, from ShoBox to the biggest pay-per-view events in television history with the highest degree of integrity and respect for the sport.

Sheila Mills, senior vice president, sports marketing, 36 years with Showtime: Throughout our tenure we’ve considered ourselves stewards of the sport, and that showed. Many of our team have been with Showtime boxing for decades. We all cared deeply about the fighters, the matchups, the presentation, and the promotion. We lend our support to the International Boxing Hall of Fame as well as regional HOFs, the BWAA, boxing-centric media outlets, local gyms, and more.

Brian Dailey, senior vice president sports and digital, 10 years with Showtime: Commitment to excellence, across everything we created. Specifically in my purview, which was digital and content. Stephen Espinoza understood the importance of digital and social platforms early in his tenure, before anyone else was truly invested. Enabling our team to expand Showtime Boxing beyond linear and PPV events though original digital content, both short and long form, live streaming with premium presentation, building new programs and IP, expanding our talent roster, capturing ringside action natively. Ten years ago, we started with three social profiles. Under Caitlin Dohrenwend and Courtney Maag’s guidance, Showtime Boxing was represented across 20-plus social handles and programs to five million plus fans and followers. I believe we set the standard across all platforms.

How would you like Showtime’s legacy to be remembered by sports fans and the boxing community?

Stephen Espinoza: I would like to think that Showtime will be remembered for its long-standing role in supporting, growing, and evolving the sport. From Hagler-Mugabi to the Tyson/Holyfield/Chavez era to the Super Six to the three biggest PPV events of all time, Showtime was at the center of the biggest events in combat sports history. And Showtime played a pivotal role in developing young fighters into future champions through its unique ShoBox series.

David Dinkins: We should be recognized for our pursuit of excellence and attention to detail. In our prime we were without peer – the best coverage, live and replays, best commentary, and the best presentation from the ring walks to post-fight interviews.

Gordon Hall: Most importantly I hope our legacy is that we really cared and were invested in the sport of boxing. Starting with our prospect series ShoBox, which was the proving ground for up and coming fighters for 22 years and helped develop 91 future champions. Some of those fighters are now in the Hall of Fame, like Andre Ward, Tim Bradley and Carl Froch. Our Showtime Championship Boxing series and PPVs brought the biggest fights in boxing. We made an impact.

ShoBox: The New Generation spawned numerous world titleholder and even a few hall of famers during its 22-year run.

Chris DeBlasio: I hope that fans will remember Showtime for its stewardship of the sport. The business of boxing and the sport itself can be an easy mark for critics, at times. One of the main focuses for our team was to present the best the sport has to offer, in a way that was both compelling and honest. We endeavored to advance the sport – fight by fight, division by division – in a meaningful way. I hope that our legacy is one that reflects that level of care and attention to detail.  

Sheila Mills: I’d like boxing fans to remember all the ways in which we brought them the sweet science, from the thrill of discovering new fighters through the indelible prospect series ShoBox to all of the memorable world title bouts. 

Brian Dailey: A brand that cared deeply about the sport, a brand that took risks and did things differently.  

Can you share one of your favorite stories, anecdotes, or experiences that you were involved in while working a Showtime Boxing event? 

Stephen Espinoza: Among the most memorable experiences were the mammoth press tours preceding Mayweather-Canelo and Mayweather-McGregor. The Mayweather-Canelo press tour encompassed 11 cities in two countries in 8 days, an exhilarating and exhausting whirlwind of private jets, overflow crowds, heated confrontations, and tit-for-tat gamesmanship. Mayweather-McGregor provided me with the once-in-a-lifetime experience of being repeatedly and vociferously booed by crowds of 17,000 boisterous fans.

Stephen Espinoza speaks during the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor World Press Tour at Budweiser Stage on July 12, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

David Dinkins: After Corrales-Castillo I was over, my decision to replay the entire tenth round was one of – if not the best production decision – I ever made. 

Gordon Hall: Building out the TV compound at Azteca Stadium before Mexican icon Julio Cesar Chavez fought Greg Haugen in front of over 132,000 people was one of the most challenging set ups of my career. It’s still to this day the most attended boxing event in history. At the time, no U.S. mobile unit company would allow their mobile units to go into Mexico. We drove in the ground support lighting equipment and two empty 53-foot trailers and flew in the technical pieces of equipment and generators to build out our control rooms and TV compound.  Working over 10 days and dealing with inclement weather, language barriers, and the massive size of the venue, it was the most labor intensive production I’d ever overseen. 

Chris DeBlasio: When the time came to announce Mayweather vs. Pacquiao in 2015, a joint announcement with our competitors at HBO, I was caught, proverbially speaking, with my pants down. Not because it was a surprise. We had prepared to make a big splash announcing a fight that had been years in the making. The press release was ready. My new friend Ray Stallone and I had organized for our executives to be on a joint media teleconference in the hour following the announcement. We waited for the green light – and waited. Each day that week came and went without a word. 

In the meantime, my team was working on a documentary film campaign chronicling a prominent figure. We had recently circulated a rough cut to select press for review. But on Friday of that week, at about 3 p.m., I got word that the rough cut had a major problem. We needed to pull it back from the press, but we needed to do so subtly, quietly, as not to raise any alarms. 

It was at that moment, as I planned to tackle a delicate and urgent assignment, that Stephen Espinoza walked past my office and casually said, “Ok. The deal is signed. Let’s get this out.”  

Brief chaos ensued. I had to dish the delicate assignment and focus on announcing an event that would eventually earn the distinction of being the biggest pay-per-view event in television history. 

Sheila Mills: There are so many memorable experiences but one that stands out would be the Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Greg Haugen pay-per-view event. Standing in Estadio Azteca, a soccer stadium in Mexico City, with over 132,000 fans in attendance was thrilling. Don King had named it “The Grand Slam of Boxing” and it lived up to that billing as Chavez, Terry Norris, Azumah Nelson and Michael Nunn all successfully defended their titles that night. 

Showtime staged and showcased countless memorable matchups. Which are your three favorite Showtime Boxing fights that you were involved with?

Stephen Espinoza: There are too many to pick favorites. The Mayweather events are in a category by themselves, due to their unmatched spectacle and magnitude. Of the others, some of the most memorable were Wilder-Fury I, with its highly charged promotion and unforgettable final rounds. Joshua-Klitschko was a thrilling back-and-forth fight in front of 90,000 rabid fans in Wembley Stadium. Thurman-Garcia on CBS drew boxing’s largest TV audience in nearly 20 years. And as a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, Spence-Ugas at AT&T Stadium was special. 

David Dinkins: Corrales-Castillo I, Joshua -Klitschko, Jackson-Castro.

Jorge Castro (right) and John David Jackson throw down in their unforgettable 1994 middleweight title clash. Photo: The Ring archives

Gordon Hall: After 34 years I have a lot of memorable matchups. Number 1 for me would have to be Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo I. It was the best action fight I have ever witnessed. Tyson vs. Holyfield I was at the time the biggest fight to be made in boxing and Tyson fight buildups and crowds were like no other and always exciting. Lastly, Mayweather vs. Pacquaio, because it was the most anticipated fight to date in boxing.

Chris DeBlasio: There are countless memories of amazing fights, dynamic performances, spectacular KOs, and unbelievable comebacks: Froch vs. Taylor in 2009, the Vazquez vs. Marquez rivalry, Wilder vs. Fury 1. 

No. 1 for me, however, is Joshua vs. Klitschko: Wembley Stadium, 90,000 fans, and a comeback TKO that rocked the massive building. When the referee mercifully stopped the fight in the 11th, it felt as if every single person in the stadium leaped at the same moment.  

But some of the most memorable events I’ve been part of at Showtime weren’t the fights themselves. A few of the most remarkable moments have come on stage at press conferences and weigh-ins.   

All of the Mayweather events were incredible, indelible experiences, especially the three record-breakers. Each event was equal parts exhausting and exhilarating. From the press tours (Mayweather vs. McGregor, the most exciting and energized, by far), to the global attention throughout fight weeks in Las Vegas, to the surreal ring walks, each event is a source of pride for me and, I suspect, all of us.

Sheila Mills: My first major pay-per-view promotion was unforgettable. It was Mike Tyson vs. Donovan “Razor” Ruddock at The Mirage in Las Vegas. Another early favorite was Pernell Whitaker vs. Julio Cesar Chavez, an electrifying promotion of a matchup so in demand it was simply named “The Fight.”  All of Floyd Mayweather’s PPV events were special, but the promotion for Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez stands out as a favorite of mine.   

Brian Dailey: Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury I had an electric atmosphere. That fight changed the course of the heavyweight division. Leo Santa Cruz vs. Carl Frampton had tremendous energy around, both in and out of the ring. Irish fans traveled well and both fighters left it all in the ring. Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor was a spectacle that stopped the sports world for an evening and disrupted combat sports like nothing before or after it. Traveling to England for Anothony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko was personally memorable and my introduction to a big fight in the UK while working with HBO on a rare co-distribution. 

The promotion leading up to a fight, the week of, and the immediate aftermath offer many unforgettable moments. What stands out to you as the most revealing behind-the-scenes moment that you experienced during a Showtime Boxing fight? 

Stephen Espinoza: The intensity and raw emotion of Deontay Wilder sharing a private moment with his fiancé Telli after a heated faceoff with Tyson Fury at the weigh-in preceding Wilder-Fury I. During the lead-up to Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia, Garcia opening up regarding his ongoing mental health struggles. Touching, personal moments between Canelo Alvarez and his daughter, and Jermell Charlo and his children, before their match-up.

David Dinkins: Mike Tyson’s interview with Jim Gray after Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ear stands out. 

Chris DeBlasio: For Mayweather vs. Canelo, we executed a 10-city press tour. Ten cities in 8 days! It was remarkably difficult and amazing at the same time. But the most unforgettable is the Mayweather vs. McGregor press tour. 

Feverish planning and preparations took place between PBC publicity maven Kelly Swanson, one of Showtime Boxing’s leading TV producers, Craig Farrell, and myself across the holiday week around Independence Day. What ensued in the days after was nothing short of a global phenomenon. 

Four cities. Four days. Unfiltered vitriol and bombast. Organized chaos and a manufactured buzz the size of the magnetic sphere that engulfs the earth.  

Sheila Mills: We were in Las Vegas at Mike Tyson’s home to review poster designs with Don King for the first Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield PPV event in 1996. We’d been cautioned not to put a “black hat” on Tyson and “white hat” on Holyfield and we’d stressed that sensitivity to our graphic artist. The large printouts were spread out on a table in Mike’s kitchen when he strolled in, took a look at the layouts and said, “This is all wrong! You need me coming out of jail and him walking out of a church!”  

Who is your favorite fighter that you enjoyed covering and working with at Showtime Boxing and why?

Stephen Espinoza: Again, too many to list, though Floyd Mayweather Jr. obviously stands out due to the sheer magnitude of the events we did together. And it was a particular pleasure working with fighters on a long-term basis and being able to witness their growth and maturation. We take particular pride in having helped develop so many current stars, including Gervonta Davis, Jermell Charlo, Jermall Charlo, Deontay Wilder, David Benavidez, Errol Spence Jr., Danny Garcia, and Leo Santa Cruz, each of whom have appeared on Showtime 10 times or more. 

Gordon Hall: I have a lot of favorite fighters but if I had to pick one it would be Ricky Hatton for a few reasons. Every Hatton fight was an event. From his entrances to “Blue Moon” being sung along by 20,000 people, to the chants of “There’s Only One Ricky Hatton” throughout the night to his relentless style that always made for an exciting fight, that was a fight and an atmosphere that I would pay to see.

Ricky Hatton’s rise from British prospect to the junior welterweight champion (and The Ring’s 2005 Fighter of the Year) was chronicled by Showtime. (Photo by John Gichigi/ Getty Images)

Chris DeBlasio: I can’t name just one fighter. There have been so many athletes, both men and women in boxing and MMA, that I’ve had the honor and privilege to work with. I am truly grateful for that and to them. However, there is one man that fights in the quiet of his mind, every single day. And he elected to share that fight, his life story – including all his battles won and lost – in a documentary film as an attempt to help those who fight the same affliction. In doing so, he put his reputation and career on the line, much the way the fighters do each time they step through the ropes. For this, I must say that Mauro Ranallo, the self-proclaimed “Bipolar Rock ‘N’ Roller,” is my favorite fighter at Showtime. 

Sheila Mills: As a marketer, it’s impossible not to appreciate the promotional genius of Floyd Mayweather Jr. His “All Access” episodes are standouts owing to his charisma and over-the-top lifestyle. His work ethic in and out of the gym is unmatched in my experience. Floyd would come to our marketing campaign shoots and demand perfection of everyone on set, especially himself. He had to read dozens of promo lines to camera from a teleprompter. We’d say, “that’s great Floyd, next” and he would say, “no, I can do better, let’s do that one again.”  

How do you see the future of boxing evolving without Showtime’s presence? What do you think the future of boxing programming and distribution will look like moving forward?

Stephen Espinoza: The sport of boxing is in a very strong place with strong momentum, and Showtime’s last few years of boxing programming have been a major reason for that. The sport of boxing will continue to evolve and thrive. Coming off what was likely the strongest year of boxing in the 37-year history of Showtime Sports, all of us are proud to have left the sport with such positive momentum. 

David Dinkins: The end of Showtime Boxing will leave a tremendous void. No other current platform presents the sweet science with the commitment and expertise we did for decades.

Sheila Mills: Boxing didn’t go away when HBO left the sport in 2018, and boxing will go on without Showtime. There are so many great fighters and matchups to be made. I’m excited to see what the coming years will bring. 

Brian Dailey: I think the future is bright and we will see a hybrid of streaming, social, and linear platforms, all of which are essential in their own way of moving the sport forward to maximize scale and audience.  

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.