Though he won’t admit it, Showtime’s boxing boss Stephen Espinoza had to be grinning from ear to ear when he heard HBO announce last week that it would no longer buy fights from Oscar De La Hoya’ Golden Boy Promotions. It essentially makes Showtime the official home of Golden Boy fighters like Canelo Alvarez, Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia, Amir Khan, Paulie Malginaggi, and Gary Russell Jr.
“It was a little puzzling,” Espinoza told the Post. “I don’t think I would have made that kind of statement. It’s tough to say to all the fans you’re looking for the best possible fights, but you categorically won’t deal with one of the major suppliers of talent under any circumstances. That’s an oxymoron.”
Espinoza admits his programming has been heavy with Golden Boy fighters since taking over as the executive vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports in November 2011.
It’s a natural link considering Espinoza was previously the attorney for Golden Boy. But he insists his only objective in his current job is to provide competitive fights and quality programming.
“I’m not in the business of hiring promoters,” Espinoza said. “I’m in the business of acquiring great fights. When we look at the last year and a few months of my tenure, if you ignore the issue of who the content suppliers are, I don’t think you can take issue with the overall quality of what we’ve been doing. From a ratings perspective, it has been an unqualified success. Last year our ratings were up 30 percent over 2011. That tells us we’re doing something right and moving in the right direction. We anticipate being on a continued upward trajectory with all the addition of this new talent.”
Topping the list of new talent is Floyd Mayweather, who inked a multi-fight deal with Showtime that begins with a May 4 bout against Robert Guerrero in Las Vegas. To promote the bout, Ross Greenburg, former president of HBO Sports, has been hired by Showtime to produce a special one-hour documentary titled “Mayweather” scheduled for April 27.
Greenburg, who has won more than 50 sports Emmy awards, was forced to resign at HBO in July 2011 after taking the fall for Manny Pacquiao moving his May 2011 fight with Shane Mosley to Showtime.
“I’ve always liked and respected Ross,” Espinoza said. “His accomplishments speak for itself. He’s one of the most talented documentarians and filmmakers of recent times. When he became available to work with, there was no one here who didn’t want him to come aboard and provide the benefit of his experience.”
The Mayweather-Guerrero hype begins on April 3 with the premiere of “30 Days in May,” a one-hour documentary that features a behind-the-scenes look at Mayweather’s life before and after his stint in jail last year on a domestic abuse charge. It begins with the day of Mayweather’s bout with Miguel Cotto last May and includes where he is taken away in handcuffs.
“The most interesting part of this is there’s a perception with all the exposure Floyd has gotten, that people know Floyd,” Espinoza said. “But this is a very different picture of Floyd Mayweather in probably one of the most challenging times of his life. I think you walk away saying, ‘I’ve seen a different side of Floyd Mayweather than has ever been seen before.”
It gives Showtime plenty to smile about.