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 tonight, 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

An oral history of Showtime’s 37 years in boxing: Part 3

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?

Barry Tompkins, play by play announcer, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, 11 years with Showtime: The most important element for us as broadcasters is that from top to bottom the crews that were assembled by David Dinkins and Gordon Hall were top-of-the-line. It made for generally flawless production. For me, I knew that if I prepared properly, once we were on the air I only had to worry about my job — no one else’s. That translates to good television.

We also almost always had good matchups – especially on ShoBox. I never had to make up a reason that the viewer should be watching this show. The same is true on Showtime Championship Boxing. Good fights and good crews equate to good television.

Brian Custer, host, 10 years with Showtime: There are a couple of things that set Showtime apart from the others. First of all, the matchups. Our network put a premium on making sure the opening bout and co-feature were just as competitive and as important as the main event. Second was the production. No one had a better production quality from the look of the broadcast, to the sublime storytelling, and elite talent who broadcasted the fights. Just about every member of our broadcast team is in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Our fair analysis and love for the sport showed through every broadcast.

Brian Campbell, ringside analyst and reporter, 5 years with Showtime:

From high production values to its reputation for putting on the biggest PPV events to its reputation for treating its talent – Showtime represented the pinnacle of a classic and timeless style of sports broadcasting. It was premier cable television and the presentation always reflected that. Showtime has always been about class.

Alejandro Luna: An unerasable mark was printed with golden letters in boxing history with every event that Showtime offered for almost four decades. The most iconic boxers left their footprint with their sweat, heart, tears, smiles and blood to live forever in the memory of the fans. The excellence of taking care of all the fine details to make memorable productions, the making of boxing idols, role models, antagonists and the determination of presenting the best fights is a very high standard of production that will be missed in generations to come.

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

Barry Tompkins: We were the gold standard for all the reasons mentioned above. We were not biased. We called it as we saw it. We never walked away from a show saying, “that was a terrible broadcast.”

Brian Custer: The undisputed broadcast leader to ever broadcast the sport of boxing.

Brian Campbell: Even though Showtime has put on the majority of the biggest combat sports PPVs in history and has been the forerunners through incorporating crossover athletes like Conor McGregor and Jake Paul into their boxing coverage, there’s no better legacy for Showtime’s imprint in the boxing space over the last few decades than the “ShoBox: The New Generation” series. 

Bare bones and perfect. Evenly matched fights between highly-ranked prospects while being agnostic to promotions. No BS or filler content. Straight to the point and straight to the fights. One would be hard-pressed to find a top champion in recent decades who didn’t first make their name on ShoBox, the ultimate proving ground. Hardcore fans always knew where their bread was buttered and that was on ShoBox for 22 years. And that’s a huge testament to the love and care put into shepherding the series by the likes of Gordon Hall and Steve Farhood. Showtime was a professional voice of truth for many years and that matters in a sport featuring endless amounts of hype, promotion, and the recurring hints of corruption.

Raul Marquez, former junior middleweight champion; SHOBOX and Spanish simulcast ringside analyst, 12 years with Showtime: 

I saw the development of many prospects, and as an Olympian myself, the “Night of the Olympians” in 2012 on ShoBox when Errol Spence Jr., Marcus Browne, Rau’shee Warren, Terrell Gausha, and Dominic Breazeale made their pro debuts together. 91 world champions eventually fought on ShoBox platform. One fighter every three shows went on to become a future world champ – that’s how important ShoBox was. 

Alejandro Luna, host, Spanish simulcast play by play announcer, 12 years with Showtime: As the leader of broadcasting excellence on TV. An institution in the storytelling of every show. The legacy of providing the best effort, preparation and dedication as a permanent challenge for every show.

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

Barry Tompkins: On ShoBox we would all throw in some money and have a pool on how many total rounds would be fought on our fight cards. What the audience never saw or heard were all the crying, moaning, and cheering in our ears coming from the truck. This crew was like family. We came from all over the country and we all looked forward to seeing each other on fight week.

Brian Custer: Hosting the Mayweather vs McGregor press tour around the world in four days was one of the wildest rides I’ve taken in my life. Besides Mayweather vs Pacquiao, it was one of the most anticipated, hyped, and successful combat sports events to ever take place.

Brian Campbell: Giant events like Tyson-Holyfield, Tyson-Lewis, Chavez-Whittaker, Joshua-Klitschko, Mayweather-McGregor and Mayweather-Pacquiao will always get mentioned sooner in Showtime history, as will all-time great action bouts like Corrales-Castillo I. 

But Mayweather-Alvarez in 2013 was an event and superfight unique to itself. Six years removed from the last superfight in the sport (Mayweather-De La Hoya), boxing was in need of something huge to take back headlines across the globe. This event delivered. The event was like a boxing family reunion – doubling as my first trip to Las Vegas and first major fight as a journalist – and Las Vegas truly felt like the center of the earth for one week. That was Showtime at its very best, amid an event large enough to fully show off just how much the balance of power across the sport had shifted after Al Haymon and Golden Boy Promotions teamed up to bring their large stable of fighters to the network less than one year earlier. Mayweather-Canelo was the moment that Showtime truly took the baton in its long rivalry with HBO as the dominant American presenter and never looked back.

In 2013, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was the P4P King and top shot-caller in boxing, while Canelo was a popular young champion. Their Showtime PPV clash was a blockbuster event.

Raul Marquez: My son Giovanni Marquez had just won the National Golden Gloves and had the opportunity to make his pro debut on ShoBox in 2022. I went from working my son’s corner to a victory to going back on the mic to finish the broadcast. I was nervous that day. Was he going to be able to handle the lights and cameras and the whole experience? I had seen it before many times where prospects froze and didn’t perform. So much was at stake, and I am happy he won. It was a beautiful and successful night. I know deep inside my Showtime family was pulling for my son Giovanni. That’s how much they cared. 

Alejandro Luna: Austin Trout vs. Miguel Cotto in 2012 was such a great experience for me. It was the very first time I visited Madison Square Garden. I had the privilege of doing the broadcast. I offered my job in memory of my father who died in 1993, but he printed in my heart the love for boxing since I was 11 years old. I enjoyed that night in a very deep way.

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

Barry Tompkins: I liked Mayweather-Canelo – not so much because of the fight, which was anticlimactic, but for all the pre-fight hype. It was a fight that was talked about by everyone, not just boxing people. And ShoBox had so many memories and moments that I can’t point to anyone in particular. But over time you get to where you can tell who’s got the goods and who’s a pretender in a matter of minutes. Watching a young fighter take that big step from prospect to contender and then champion was truly satisfying.

Brian Custer: The energy in the building when Mayweather and Pacquaio made their ring walks was indescribable. Not to mention the number of celebrities that attended the fight and shut down the private plane airstrip in Las Vegas. Joshua-Klitschitko was the best fight I attended. Ninety thousand at a packed Wembley Stadium and a fight of the year. It was a passing of the guard in the heavyweight division because Klitschko retired after the fight. Lastly,   Mayweather-McGregor was one of the loudest, most insane atmospheres I’ve ever witnessed in combat sports. The combination of boxing and MMA fans, the shenanigans both fighters said and did during the worldwide press tour for the fight, and the weigh-in was probably something we will never see again. 

Brian Campbell: In addition to the above mention of Mayweather-Canelo, these three matchups stand out the most for me: 

Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder I. Never before or since have I been so caught up in the drama of a sporting event while sitting in press row. When I stood up after Fury was dramatically knocked down, the front of my pants were coated in deep sweat. That was serious drama and a truly special performance from Fury which was overshadowed by the highly disputed scoring. 

Marcos Maidana vs. Adrien Broner. I wasn’t even there that night. I covered from home as an ESPN writer and editor at the time. Yet I’m not even sure, a full decade later, whether people truly remember how magical that night was. You couldn’t find a boxer more disliked by the majority of hardcore fans at the time than Broner; just as, you couldn’t find a boxer more beloved during that same stretch than the hard-punching Maidana. Forget for a second, as so many have, that Broner rallied late in that fight and was coming on big at the close of the final round. This night, instead, was about Broner getting the comeuppance that his critics had always felt was inevitable. I’ve never seen so many people celebrate the result of one fight. 

Marcos Maidana’s upset of brash Adrien Broner ignited the hardcore fan community like few fights prior or since.

This wasn’t even a fight, but the Mayweather-McGregor press tour was incredible. The closest thing I’ve ever seen to performance theater; it was more rap battle and schoolyard banter than anything associated with boxing. This multi-stop event was truly for everyone, in some form, as both fighters, hailing from separate sports and opposite sides of the globe, actually made you care about the two of them fighting. There will never, ever be another event like this and there will never be as good another media event to raise awareness in such a bombastic and entertaining way.

Raul Marquez: It was June 2008 and I was on the last leg of my boxing career. I was 37 years old and I earned an opportunity to fight a middleweight title eliminator against Giovanni Lorenzo. He was young and undefeated at 26-0. I wasn’t supposed to win. I was a huge underdog. The winner would fight Arthur Abraham for the middleweight title. I had a great camp and was in great shape and had my dad and brother in my corner. I took Lorenzo into deep waters. I bullied him, taunted him, and used my experience. I was determined that night that nobody was going to beat me. I won a close unanimous decision. Later on that year I got the biggest pay day of my career and lost to Abraham and retired from the sport of boxing and focused on my broadcasting career. All in all, I had 12 great years with the Showtime familia. It was a fun ride. 

Alejandro Luna: Vazquez-Marquez II was a fantastic Rocky moment for Israel. I’d also met Israel before he was a champion when I was doing a feature report. We developed a great friendship. Years later, we enjoyed four great fights between tremendous warriors. It was also a privilege to have been chosen to call Mayweather-Pacquiao. Millions of fans and journalists wanted to be in our place and we definitely poured our hearts out to offer a passionate and unique broadcast. Gervonta Davis vs Isaac Cruz was an epic fight as well. It was an even bout that had everybody at the edge of their seats.

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? 

Barry Tompkins: There are some fighters who can handle all the pre-fight nonsense, and some who just can’t. After many years of being around big fights and endless press conferences and face-offs, it becomes clear who’s going to really show up on fight night. I’ve seen good fighters wilt under the pressure, and average fighters shine under the same circumstances.

Brian Campbell: Showtime’s “All Access” series has always been must-see TV as a pre-fight documentary vehicle, yet the network doesn’t get the credit it deserves after the fact, through the vehicle of their “Epilogue” episodes which capture the sights and sounds from fight night. The greatest moment in “All Access” came in the locker room when Austin Trout upset Miguel Cotto to claim a 154-pound title, secure a shot at Canelo Alvarez and become the first boxer to defeat the Puerto Rican star in his adopted home of New York. Cotto might have lost that fight but the honesty and vulnerability he showed afterward in the locker room in the Madison Square Garden while talking to his wife instantly made him a moral victor. Cotto, while having an intensely powerful moment of introspection following such a high-profile loss, turned to his wife, who was embracing him, and said, “This is all I know.” That’s the entire sport summed up in one sound bite. It was moving and gripping. It was art. And it was reality TV at its finest.

Alejandro Luna: Erroll Spence Jr. vs. Terrence Crawford and Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao had the most exciting experiences before, during and after the fight.

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

Barry Tompkins: Probably Jaron Ennis. We had Boots several times on ShoBox and you could see his growth from one fight to the next. Even more memorable to me was the fact that he never changed – he was great with us, great with the public, and all business in the ring. He’s exactly the same guy now that he’s known to the boxing world, and for me, that goes a long way.

Brian Custer: I enjoy and respect all fighters for the job they do but there are some who are just special, and others who are gentlemen of the sport. I’ve enjoyed Errol Spence Jr., who always let me sit in on his camp for some of his biggest fights and even gave me a couple rounds of sparring for good measure. David Benavidez is a great fighter who always answered a question, no matter how hard it was and is a genuinely nice man. Gervonta Davis invited me to Baltimore to see his hometown and gave me a tour of the environment he grew up in and how it shaped him as a man. I was grateful that he was that vulnerable during our interview and visit.

Errol Spence Jr., the star of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, made his pro debut on Showtime. Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime

Brian Campbell: Although he would go on to fight on many networks across his Hall of Fame career, along with a secondary role as a burgeoning broadcaster, which also began at Showtime, Andre Ward, to me, will always be a Showtime boxer. This is where he first cut his teeth on the highest level following a gold medal win at the 2004 Olympics when he became a regular on the ShoBox. Then, came his breakthrough stretch of fights during the Super Six World Boxing Classic. Ward also launched his illuminating self portrait that was his documentary, “SOG: The Book of Ward,” which was produced by Showtime. Ward never went out of his way to give too much over the years to journalists and was seen, at times, as everything from a malcontent to someone who was overly self righteous. But none of those labels were really ever true. Ward had a unique personality, was stringent with his beliefs and authored one of most unique unbeaten careers in boxing history. Yet, when I look back at the totality of everything he endured, I have nothing but respect for how Ward handled himself. And so much of that boxing life story happened under a Showtime banner. It turns out, the only thing stronger than Ward’s talent and in-ring adaptability is his character.

Raul Marquez: Gervonta Davis for his highlight-reel KOs, Canelo Alvarez for his Mexican holiday celebrations and big-atmosphere fights were electrifying on another level. 

Alejandro Luna: David Benavidez was always in a great disposition to answer questions and has always been in close contact with fans and media.

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?

Barry Tompkins: The whole thing to me is sad. Both personally and professionally. Boxing had gone from a mainstream sport to a niche sport, but its presence on Showtime (and earlier HBO) exposed it to a new audience. It won’t have that any longer and in my opinion will regress to a small corps of die-hard fans. My guess is, beyond ESPN and DAZN, it’ll be PPV streaming for big fights (or sadly, not so big fights) and maybe a show like ShoBox streaming somewhere. But clearly, it will attract the boxing fan and virtually no one else.

Brian Custer: I believe there will be a lot of direct-to-consumer type of models when it comes to boxing in the future. More PPVs and I believe more platforms that will provide a service that allows fans to pay a service to just stream their fights.

Brian Campbell: The show will go on for PBC, which has been the lead presenter of fights under the Showtime banner for the final decade of the network’s time airing boxing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many key contributors, both in front of and behind the camera from Showtime, end up reuniting in the near future. But it’s hard to properly put into words what losing Showtime means for the boxing world at large. Showtime was a professional institution which brought class and grace to such a barbarically beautiful sport. The production values were through the roof and the way Showtime treated its employees was unmatched. That’s the secret sauce – the mom and pop shop persona which Showtime exuded despite being such a large and well-respected operation. While its home for fights can and soon will be replaced, its voice will have a difficult time rebooting. Showtime spoke truth about the sport during a stretch in which promoters and networks were never more aligned and dependent upon one another. Yet, the network still retained its voice and integrity along the way.

Raul Marquez: Boxing is going to continue, and I promise you Raul “El Diamante” Marquez will be back to break it down for everyone that loves boxing as much as I do – you better believe it.

Alejandro Luna: Boxing is in need of a leader that pursues excellence in telling a life story beyond every major boxing fight, and delivering wisdom and life experiences emerging from the anecdotes of every boxer.

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.

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