NEW YORK – March 31, 2023 – SHOWTIME will air all four bouts from last Saturday’s exciting four-fight SHOWTIME PPV event headlined by David Benavidez and Caleb Plant. This Saturday, April 1 at 11:05 p.m. ET/PT, the network will debut Benavidez’s benchmark win as well as Jesus Ramos’ dominant stoppage win over Joey Spencer. The opening two fights of the pay-per-view card, Cody Crowley vs. Abel Ramos and Chris Colbert vs. Jose Valenzuela, will air separately on SHOWTIME EXTREME on Wednesday, April 12 with all four bouts also available across SHOWTIME streaming and on-demand platforms on the day of air.
Saturday’s delayed telecast will be preceded by the premiere of ALL ACCESS: DAVIS VS. GARCIA at 10:35 p.m. ET/PT previewing the Saturday, April 22, SHOWTIME PPV presentation of Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia. The five-time Emmy® winning series takes viewers behind-the-scenes over two episodes in anticipation of the year’s biggest fight.
In a career-defining performance, “The Mexican Monster” Benavidez remained unbeaten and retained his Interim WBC Super Middleweight Title over Plant by unanimous decision. The 22-year-old Ramos also stayed undefeated with his dominating seventh-round stoppage against fellow unbeaten contender Spencer. The two thrilling opening fights of the telecast saw Colbert make his return with a controversial unanimous decision over Valenzuela. In the opener, Crowley, the unbeaten welterweight contender, ground out a majority decision over Ramos in a 12-round WBC Title Eliminator. The event, which was presented by Premier Boxing Champions, took place in front of a sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena crowd of 13,865.
#BenavidezPlant and #Benavidez were trending No. 1 while #Plant hit No. 2 on Twitter Saturday night, one of the busiest sports nights of the year which included NCAA Division I men’s basketball games and a UFC event. On YouTube, highlights of Benavidez-Plant were trending No. 2 worldwide on Sunday into Monday.
SHOWTIME is amid the industry’s leading boxing schedule with 14 marquee events over just the first six months of the year including a current run of seven live telecasts over nine weeks. The prolific schedule continues with two live events next weekend: Friday, April 7, SHOBOX: The New Generation® returns with a tripleheader featuring up-and-coming prospects and headlined by super lightweight Shinard Bunch;the following night, Saturday, April 8, SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® will feature undefeated super welterweight sensation Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora defending his Interim WBC Super Welterweight Title against rising contender Brian Mendoza in Carson, Calif.
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Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Paramount, owns and operates the premium service SHOWTIME®, which features critically acclaimed original series, provocative documentaries, box-office hit films, comedy and music specials and hard-hitting sports. SHOWTIME is available as a stand-alone streaming service across all major streaming devices and Showtime.com, as well as via cable, DBS, telco and streaming video providers. SNI also operates the premium services THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as on demand versions of all three brands. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®. For more information, go to www.SHO.com.
