SHOWTIME Sports will continue to serve boxing fans during the current hiatus from live sports, announcing today SHOWTIME BOXING CLASSICS with regularly scheduled replays of legendary bouts from the network’s deep archive of world championship boxing. SHOWTIME BOXING CLASSICS will air on three consecutive Friday nights beginning April 10, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. The telecasts will also be available via the SHOWTIME streaming service and SHOWTIME ANYTIME®.
The April slate of SHOWTIME BOXING CLASSICS will be highlighted by three Fight of the Year winners, which include some of the most heart-pounding and unforgettable fights in boxing history.
Friday, April 10:
Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo I – 2005 Consensus Fight of the Year (also featuring the Round of the Year and later named Fight of the Decade)
Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo II
Friday, April 17:
Paulie Ayala vs. Johnny Tapia I – 1999 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year (Ayala earned Fighter of the Year honors)
Paulie Ayala vs. Johnny Tapia II
Friday, April 24:
Lucas Matthysse vs. John Molina – 2014 Consensus Fight of the Year
Mickey Bey vs. John Molina
During each SHOWTIME BOXING CLASSICS telecast, Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell, the network’s versatile combat sports analysts, will host a live companion episode of their digital talk show MORNING KOMBAT on the Morning Kombat YouTube Channel. Thomas and Campbell will watch the SHOWTIME replay and react to the fights in real time, feature special guest interviews with principal participants from the bouts (fighters, trainers, referees and promoters) and take questions from fans while the bouts replay on the network.
“The greatest fight I’ve ever covered,” said Al Bernstein, the International Boxing Hall of Fame analyst. In a career that spans more than 40 years, including calling Hagler-Hearns, Bowe-Holyfield I and the Vazquez-Marquez trilogy, Bernstein says the first Corrales-Castillo war was the best. “This was Hagler-Hearns times three because it lasted so much longer. It was fought at a such an extraordinary skill level and to me that is what made it so special.”
The fights scheduled to air in April include:
Corrales-Castillo I (May 7, 2005, Corrales TKO 10) – After nine intense, back-and-forth rounds in a WBC and WBO lightweight unification bout, Corrales accomplishes the unthinkable, miraculously regrouping from two knockdowns in the 10th to stop Castillo and etch his name in boxing lore. After managing to beat the count (and losing a point for spitting the mouthpiece), Corrales got Castillo on the ropes and connected with a huge right hand. Corrales continued to unload on a defenseless Castillo, forcing referee Tony Weeks to halt the blazing action.
Corrales-Castillo II (October 8, 2005, Castillo KO 4) – Castillo, who did not make the 135-pound weight limit, making the contest a non-title bout, avenges an earlier loss to the WBC and WBO Lightweight World Champion Corrales with a one-punch, fourth-round knockout. Castillo consistently outworks Corrales and lands the harder punches in a more one-sided bout than their first affair. Castillo staggers his opponent with a right hand in the third round that sends him stumbling backward across the ring. He then scores a finishing knockdown with a left hook in the fourth that puts Corrales flat on his back.
Ayala-Tapia I (June 26, 1999, Ayala W 12) – In some of the fiercest two-way action in the history of Las Vegas boxing, southpaw Ayala hands Tapia his first professional loss in 49 fights and captures the WBA Bantamweight Title by the scores of 115-114 and 116-113 twice. As the boxers were being announced, Tapia walked across the ring and shoved Ayala, causing a momentary skirmish.
Ayala-Tapia II (October 7, 2000, Ayala W 12) – In a rematch of 1999’s Fight of the Year, the action between the heated rivals does not disappoint. However, the outcome is the same as their first meeting, with Ayala winning via controversial unanimous decision. Mayhem ensues as the decision is announced and an incensed Tapia is ushered from the ring by security.
Matthysse-Molina (April 26, 2014, Matthysse KO 11) – Fighting in the night’s co-main event, Matthysse steals the show with a spectacular 11th-round knockout over Molina in 2014’s Fight of the Year. The Argentine, then ranked No. 1 in the world at 140 pounds, is hurt in the first and dropped in the second and fifth rounds. But Matthysse comes back with knockdowns in the eighth, 10th and 11th rounds to turn back a determined bid by Molina.
Bey-Molina (July 19, 2013, Molina KO 10) – In one of ShoBox: The New Generation’s most unforgettable rounds, Molina comes back from the brink of certain defeat to dramatically knockout then-unbeaten Mickey Bey. Heading into the 10th and final round, Molina was trailing on the three judges’ scorecards by 90-81, 89-82 and 88-83.
New customers who sign up on SHOWTIME.com and the SHOWTIME app before May 3 can take advantage of a recently announced 30-day free trial for the SHOWTIME streaming service, available on SHOWTIME.com and the SHOWTIME app on all supported devices.
