Showtime will be available to over 70 million households during a a free preview weekend from Saturday, January 16 through Monday, January 18. For fight fans, that means a chance to catch this Saturday’s heavyweight doubleheader, headlined by Deontay Wilder vs. Artur Szpilka. Find full details here, along with a video close-up from Showtime on Wilder.
Saturday’s line-up will be anchored by the television premiere of The Imitation Game, and the 30th Anniversary of Showtime Championship Boxing with the history-making night of four heavyweights meeting in two world championship fights, live from Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center.
At 8 p.m. ET/PT, Showtime will premiere The Imitation Game, set during World War II, which stars Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch as mathematician Alan Turing who tries to crack the Nazi’s enigma code to end the war. Immediately following, Showtime Championship Boxing debuts at 10 p.m. ET with the undefeated WBC Heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder, who has knocked out all but one of his 35 opponents, making the third defense of his title against brawling Polish contender Artur Szpilka in the main event.
Plus, undefeated challengers Charles Martin and Vyacheslav Glazkov will battle in the co-feature for the vacant IBF Heavyweight title. The Jan. 16 live doubleheader will mark the first heavyweight world championship fights in Brooklyn since James Jeffries knocked out James Corbett in the 23rd round on May 11, 1900, on Coney Island. Additionally, for the first time in boxing history, both heavyweight world championship bouts will be available on the Showtime Sports YouTube page. The offering serves to give boxing fans everywhere access to the Showtime Sports flagship series featuring Wilder, the first American heavyweight champion in nearly a decade and one of today’s brightest stars.
Other highlights from the Showtime free preview weekend include the debut of the political documentary, The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth, the ongoing new season of Shameless, and the premiere of the new drama series Billions, while also getting access to all of the on demand lineup of previous and other Showtime shows.
