Wilder's May 18 defense of his heavyweight title against Breazeale (r) will be televised on Showtime, not PPVGETTY IMAGES
Boxer Deontay Wilder has "decided to remain with longtime broadcast partner Showtime, at least for now," according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.com. Wilder will defend his heavyweight title May 18 at Barclays Center against mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale. At a news conference yesterday it was announced that the fight "would be on Showtime, and not on Showtime PPV as many thought, or even on Fox or Fox PPV, the other broadcast partner" for PBC, which Wilder and Breazeale are part of. DAZN last week "offered Wilder his choice" of a three-fight deal worth $100M or a four-fight deal worth $120M that would include a pair of $40M paydays to "fight for the undisputed title against three-belt titlist Anthony Joshua and a rematch." Showtime President of Sports & Event Programming Stephen Espinoza said, "We have a May 18 deal and we are continuing to discuss what happens after that." Wilder's co-manager, Shelly Finkel, said that they are "discussing a three-fight deal with Showtime." He also said that if the Showtime deal is finalized, it "wouldn't prevent" a Joshua fight or a Tyson Fury rematch on other platforms. Meanwhile, Wilder said that he was "happy" his fight against Breazeale would not be on PPV. Wilder: "I didn't feel like this fight was a pay-per-view fight. I feel when you have pay-per-view fights they are the special fights, like they're the ones you gotta see" (ESPN.com, 3/19).
CAUTIOUS APPROACH: In L.A., Lance Pugmire cites sources as saying that Wilder was "not sold that DAZN could deliver Joshua for the showdown, and he also assesses even more money can be available down the road." Finkel said that Wilder was also "troubled by DAZN not revealing what Joshua would be paid for the fight." Both DAZN and Showtime reps "confirmed they are working with the respective heavyweights on a fight-by-fight basis, so if the unification happens, it will likely go to the highest broadcast bidder" (L.A. TIMES, 3/20).
STILL KICKING: RING TV's Michael Woods wrote people are "wondering about the health and wellness of Showtime." But many fans "came to appreciate" Showtime more after last Saturday when they "saw the Fox crew, still jelling, do that Spence-Garcia PPV." The crew had some "rough patches." People "might be looking past" Showtime, because these "new entities are splashy." Woods: "But I sense that Espinoza and company are digging in, and fighting furiously, and not in an unfocused way" (RINGTV.com, 3/19).
