The first Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN telecast will feature a 12-round welterweight matchup between undefeated Keith “One Time” Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs) and Luis Collazo (36-6, 19 KOs) when the series debuts on ESPN on Saturday, July 11, at 9 p.m. ET.
In addition to Thurman vs. Collazo, the card opens with a 10-round junior middleweight matchup between undefeated Tony Harrison (21-0, 18 KOs) and Willie Nelson (23-2-1, 13 KOs). The card will be held in Tampa, Fla., at a site to be named.
In March, ESPN announced a multi-year agreement, to televise Premier Boxing Champions, a series created for television by Haymon Boxing, featuring top-level fights between many of boxing’s biggest names. PBC on ESPN will air 12, two-hour live shows annually on ESPN and ABC.
Blow-by-blow commentator Joe Tessitore and analyst Teddy Atlas will call the fights ringside on ESPN and ABC.
Florida’s Thurman—who is regarded by some as the heir apparent in the division when Floyd Mayweather retires—is coming off a unanimous decision win against welterweight contender Robert Guerrero, while New York’s Collazo is looking to score another victory following a second-round TKO win over Christopher Degollado.
Harrison, fighting out of Detroit, scored a third-round TKO win over Pablo Munguia in his last fight, while Cleveland’s Nelson is looking to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Vanes Martirosyan.
