ESPN will join the ranks of networks televising Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions. The multi-year agreement was announced today. The first of 12 two-hour annual live Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN telecasts is scheduled for Saturday, July 11, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
ESPN telecasts will air live in primetime. ABC broadcasts will air on Saturday afternoon, with further details to be announced at a later date. ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s Spanish-language network, will also televise all PBC on ESPN fights as part of its Noche de Combates series.
Card details of the first PBC on ESPN telecast and subsequent shows will be announced at a later date. ESPN’s long-standing Friday Night Fights will celebrate its last show Friday, May 22 with the finals of the Boxcino 2015 tournament.
“ESPN has a long history of carrying world-class boxing events and the new Premier Boxing Champions series continues our commitment to the sport with premier-level primetime fights previously only available on premium cable networks,” said John Skipper, ESPN president.
PBC on ESPN telecasts will be produced by ESPN. Blow-by-blow commentator Joe Tessitore and analyst Teddy Atlas, both recipients of the prestigious Sam Taub Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism presented by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), will call the fights ringside on ESPN and ABC. Additional on-air commentators will be announced at a later date.
ESPN3, ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, will present non-televised undercard bouts and PBC on ESPN weigh-ins live leading up to the fights. Stories about the fighters and the fights will also be featured on ESPN.com and on SportsCenter.
