Showtime has aired all four of Joshua's (l) title defenses as part of an existing contractGETTY IMAGES
Showtime has "acquired the U.S. rights to the Anthony Joshua-Joseph Parker unification bout," which will be held March 31 in Cardiff, Wales, according to Kevin Iole of YAHOO SPORTS. The fight joins the March 3 Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz heavyweight fight on the net. Joshua-Parker will be the "12th heavyweight world championship match on Showtime" since Wilder won his the WBC title in '15 (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/5). ESPN.com's Dan Rafael noted Showtime aired Joshua's title win over Charles Martin in April '16 and has "aired all four of his title defenses as part of a contract it has with Joshua." Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn "had the right to get an offer from Showtime for this bout and then shop it to other networks with Showtime also having the right to match any other offer." The net in fact did match a "strong offer from rival HBO." A source said HBO offered $1.95M for the U.S. rights (ESPN.com, 2/5).
THE PACMAN COMETH: In L.A., Lance Pugmire notes Manny Pacquiao's return to the ring "could be finalized as soon as this week," and the expectation is that he will make his N.Y. debut on an April 14 PPV card at MSG. Top Rank Chair Bob Arum said that the plan for his "first ESPN pay-per-view card is to also stage a World Boxing Organization welterweight title defense by champion Jeff Horn against unbeaten former four-belt junior-welterweight champion Terence Crawford" (L.A. TIMES, 2/6).
