All of the USA TV information has now been slotted in well ahead of time for the Joshua vs Parker fight scheduled to take place on March 31st.
Joshua’s deal with Showtime in the States continues as they will broadcast his next fight with Joseph Parker.
Last year however there were some teething problems in terms of finalizing the TV information in the US relatively late before one of his bouts.
Having said this, he still pulled big figures on the network last year to be fair to him.
Now however he’s got plenty of time for the network to build up his fight to an American audience after the following was confirmed to Boxing News and Views:
SHOWTIME Sports will present the Heavyweight World championship unification between undefeated IBF and WBA World Champion Anthony Joshua MBE and unbeaten WBO World Champion Joseph Parker on Saturday, March 31 live on SHOWTIME from Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
British sensation Joshua, who has knocked out all 20 of his professional opponents, burst onto the global scene with a dramatic knockout of long-reigning Heavyweight kingpin Wladimir Klitschko in the universally acclaimed 2017 Fight of the Year at Wembley Stadium in London.
In two fights last year, Joshua drew 168,000 spectators combined to massive stadium events in the U.K. Now, he faces another significant challenge in Parker, a native of New Zealand with 24 wins, no losses and 18 knockouts. Parker is attempting the third World title defence of his WBO belt.
Joshua vs. Parker is just the second Heavyweight championship unification in history between undefeated World titleholders. The only fighter to emerge victorious from a matchup of unbeaten Heavyweight World champions was Mike Tyson in 1987.
With the addition of Joshua vs. Parker, SHOWTIME will televise all four of the Heavyweight World titles in the same month as undefeated American Deontay Wilder (39-0, 38 KOs) will defend his WBC belt against unbeaten Luis Ortiz (28-0, 24 KOs) on Saturday, March 3 from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The four top-rated Heavyweights–Wilder, Ortiz, Joshua and Parker–boast a combined record of 111 wins, zero losses and 100 knockouts.
Both Heavyweight championships are cornerstones of a remarkable 2018 SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING schedule that now includes 16 undefeated fighters and 13 world titles fights across 11 marquee events through the first six months of the year.
“The Heavyweight division is in the midst of a renaissance and SHOWTIME is delivering the all of the pivotal bouts to our subscribers,” said Stephen Espinoza, President, Sports and Event Programming, Showtime Networks Inc.
“Anthony Joshua is a global superstar and we’re proud to present his sixth, and perhaps most challenging, World title fight to the U.S. audience. Joshua vs. Parker will be the 12th Heavyweight World championship match on SHOWTIME since Deontay Wilder won his title in 2015, an undisputed industry-leading offering in boxing’s preeminent division.”
