FRIDAY – Conor McGregor Media Day – 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT From UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas
SHOWTIME Sports will present live HD Satellite and Internet coverage from Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor Media Days as the boxing legend and UFC superstar open their training camps in preparation for their August 26 SHOWTIME PPV® blockbuster from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Deontay Wilder is shopping around for his next fight – set to take place, possibly, in November – and he may have found a most marketable and exciting opponent in dangerous Cuban southpaw Luis Ortiz.
Speaking with Premier Boxing Champions, the unbeaten WBC heavyweight king spoke about how Ortiz, also unbeaten, is a fighter other heavyweights are afraid of. But “The Bronze Bomber,” who said Ortiz is known as a “Boogeyman,” insists he does not in any way shape or form scare him.
The last time he fought, former two-weight champ Juan Manuel Lopez actually fought twice on the same night. “Juanma,” who returned from a two year layoff last October, this inactive spell coming after two straight (and quite nasty) stoppage losses, beat Wilfredo Vazquez Jr – and after the 11th round TKO win, the Puerto Rican got involved in a fracas with one of Vazquez’ corner-men!
Biggest isn’t always best. Promoter Oscar De La Hoya, himself no stranger to gargantuan numbers, either as a fighter or as a promoter, said on Tuesday’s conference call to further promote the September 16 world middleweight clash between Gennady Golovkin and Saul Canelo Alvarez that the upcoming fight will be THE biggest fight in the history of the middleweight division.
Floyd “Money” Mayweather opened up the Mayweather Boxing Club on Thursday for a media workout ahead of his highly anticipated matchup against UFC champion Conor McGregor on Saturday, Aug. 26 in the headlining attraction of a SHOWTIME PPV event from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Joining Mayweather at the media workout were a trio of fighters competing under the Mayweather Promotions banner who enter the ring in undercard attractions on SHOWTIME PPV.
Former world champion and top welterweight contender “Showtime” Shawn Porter (27-2-1, 17 KOs) will take on former title challenger Thomas Dulorme (24-2, 18 KOs) in a 10-round showdown that headlines Mayweather vs. McGregor preliminary bouts presented by Mayweather Promotions live on FOX and FOX Deportes Saturday, Aug. 26 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“As always I’m just excited to get in the ring and perform,” said Porter. “I think fighting on network television again will be awesome and a huge opportunity for me. And to do it before one of the most anticipated sporting events ever is even more exciting. I feel like I’ve earned this spot and I’m ready to give the people the appetizer they deserve! ‘Showtime’ Shawn Porter never disappoints and I will prove that again on August 26.”
Two world championship fights including a title defense by America’s youngest world champion are part of the trio of high stakes matchups on the Mayweather vs. McGregor SHOWTIME PPV undercard on Saturday, Aug. 26 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and presented by Mayweather Promotions.
The four-fight SHOWTIME PPV event, beginning live at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, is headlined by the unprecedented super welterweight matchup between boxing’s undefeated all-time great Floyd Mayweather and UFC superstar Conor McGregor. In the co-featured bout, undefeated rising star Gervonta “Tank” Davis will make the second defense of his IBF Junior Lightweight World Championship against undefeated challenger Francisco Fonseca as the 22-year-old looks to continue his reign as the youngest current champion from the U.S.
Nathan Cleverly will defend his WBA World Light Heavyweight title against Badou Jack on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor blockbuster at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas on Saturday, August 26, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Cleverly defeated hometown champion Juergen Braehmer last October to pick up the WBA title and makes his first defence against Jack, who steps up a weight after a two-year reign as WBC World Super Middleweight champion.
It’s possible the fight has been overtaken somewhat in terms of hype and fan attention (an understatement if ever there was one!) but Miguel Cotto will face Yoshihiro Kamegai on August 26; the night Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor meet up in what is either a joke fight or a genuinely fascinating crossover fight (depending on your own view).
Is former super-middleweight king Carl Froch worthy of going into The Hall of Fame? “The Cobra,” now aged 40, his reputation, his health and his wealth as intact as his recently surgically repaired nose, told BBC Sport that he has “heard whispers that I might be a Hall of Famer one day.”
The British legend again confirmed how he will not be coming back, that he has “been out too long,” and that he would find it “dangerous” to attempt to boil back down to 168 pounds. Froch, who went out on a high with his crushing of vocal rival George Groves, who he knocked flat in a return fight in front of a then record crowd at Wembley in May of 2014, says he currently weighs around 14st (196 pounds) and that he is content where he is, on the safe side of the ropes.