The end of 2023 marks the end of boxing on Showtime that televised the art of “The Sweet Science for nearly four decades. Rounding out its long outstanding run, Showtime Sports released a special “The End Of An Era” feature rewinding 37 years of the world-class boxing.
The 38-minute feature covers some of the most notable fights in history, some of the biggest pay-per-view events, ShoBox: The New Generation®, and everything in between. The backstage views include the 1997 rematch, known as “Bite Fight” between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, the 2005 showdown between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo, the rivalry between Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez that spanned across four fights from 2007 to 2010.
A long list of other famed boxers of the past and prominent stars of today that battled it out on Showtime includes Julio Cesar Chavez, Lennox Lewis, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Manny Pacquiao, Terence Crawford, Canelo Alvarez, Anthony Joshua, Gervonta Davis, among others.
The final Showtime PPV event aired live from Las Vegas, where David Benavidez eliminated Demetrius Andrade in six rounds. The event played as the “The End Of An Era” backdrop.
The network’s Emmy Award-winning documentary team take viewers behind the scenes to “spotlight a group that is widely regarded as the leading boxing production team in the world,” reads the “In case you missed it” recap. “Its history is told by the Showtime Boxing® broadcasters including International Boxing Hall of Famers Al Bernstein, Jim Gray and ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. Also, Showtime Boxing host Brian Custer, versatile play-by-play announcer Mauro Ranallo, three-division world champion Abner Mares, and Spanish language commentators Alejandro Luna and former world champion Raul Marquez, among others, share how, “eye-popping pageantry set the stage for edge-of-your seat pugilistic performances,” and that there is, “no match for the exhilaration or shock that fighters shared with fans after a knockout victory.”
“The End Of An Era” is executive produced by four-time Emmy® Award winner David Dinkins, Jr. It is produced by the team that delivers the multi-time Emmy-winning docu-series All Access, which includes producers Marc Youngblood and Sam Shouvlin. Director is Nick Manning. Editors are Josh Glaser and Andrew Romero. Directors of Photography are Jesse Cook and Steve Lamme. Boxing historian and IBHOF Steve Farhood serves as Editorial Consultant.
Showtime Championship Boxing kicked off its broadcast on March 10, 1986 in Las Vegas, where “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler knocked out John “The Beast” Mugabi in the 11th round. The very last boxing card on Showtime aired live on December 16, 2023 from Minneapolis, where David Morrell Jr stopped Sena Agbeko in second round.
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