Boxing Hits The Big Screen: Mayweather vs. Marquez Live In Theaters

NCM Fathom, in association with Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions, will bring live world championship boxing to the big screen in high definition for the first time ever.

The inagural event is the showing of the highly anticipated 12-round welterweight fight between six-time world champion in five weight divisions Floyd “Money” Mayweather and five-time world champion in three weight divisions Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez and televised undercard on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET/ 5:30 p.m. PT in select movie theaters nationwide.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Fathom into the Golden Boy family of sponsors as their interest in the Mayweather vs. Marquez mega-fight is another indication of the sheer magnitude of the fight itself,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions.

“Having the fight in high definition in movie theaters throughout the country is unprecedented and gives boxing fans another outlet to watch the compelling action of a big-time fight.”

Mayweather vs. Marquez: “Number One/Numero Uno” Fight LIVE will take boxing fans ringside to experience every jab and hook thrown during this ultimate showdown from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The historic match marks the return of boxing to movie theaters for the first time in nearly three decades.

“Watching fights at the movies goes back to the 1940s,” said boxing historian Bert Sugar. “It’s the next best thing to being there. Seeing a fight at a movie theater is the ultimate virtual experience. You pretty much get everything but the sweat.”

The first boxing match publicly shown in movie theaters was the Eric Boon vs. Arthur Danaher fight in London seen in only three theaters on Feb. 23, 1939.

The first boxing match shown in U.S. movie theaters was the Joe Louis vs. Lee Savold bout from Madison Square Garden in New York on June 15, 1951. The last fight to be widely shown in movie theaters was Sugar Ray Leonard’s victory over Roberto “Fists of Stone” Duran in the famous “No Mas” fight on Nov. 25, 1980.

A 1996 Olympic Bronze medalist for the United States, Floyd Mayweather (39-0, 25 KO’s) has since gone on to strike gold in the professional ranks, firmly establishing himself as the best fighter of his era. Mayweather won his first world title – the WBC Super Featherweight Championship – at the age of 21 in 1998.

The Grand Rapids, Mich. native defended that title eight times before moving up to lightweight and taking the 135-pound belt in 2002. He went on to win the junior welterweight and welterweight world titles, respectively. Mayweather defeated Oscar de la Hoya in May of 2007 for the World Junior Middleweight Championship in a record-setting pay-per-view super-fight and in his last fight in December 2007, knocked out Ricky “Hitman” Hatton in the tenth round, handing the British superstar his first professional defeat.

Mayweather announced his retirement from boxing soon after that fight. He went on to achieve crossover fame as a contestant on the hit show “Dancing with the Stars” and as a participant in WWE’s “Wrestlemania XXIV.”

“I can’t wait to get back into the ring to reclaim my rightful place as boxing’s pound-for-pound king while fans in movie theaters across the country experience it all live in high definition on 40-foot-screens,” said Mayweather. “If you can’t be ringside, this is another great way to see my return to the ring.”

Mayweather vs. Marquez: “Number One / Numero Uno” will take place on what is historically considered boxing’s biggest weekend – Mexican Independence Day or El Grito de Independence.

“Floyd has always wanted to appear on the big screen so this is just great,” said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. “It’s going to be a great night of boxing and watching it in high definition on such a large screen will be a great treat for the fans who go to theaters to watch it.”

Mexico City’s Marquez(50-4-1, 37 KO’s) has long been revered by boxing purists as one of the best in the sport, having won 29 of his first 30 pro bouts before finally getting a world title shot in 1999.

Following a loss in that fight, he didn’t lose again for the next seven years. Marquez won the IBF Featherweight Championship in 2003 and in the same year, also captured the WBA Featherweight title. Marquez would lose his belt via controversial decision in 2006, but he returned to win the WBC Junior Lightweight Championship in March 2007.

Marquez moved up to the 135-pound weight class in September of 2008 and won the Ring Magazine Lightweight Championship. The 36-year-old added the WBA and WBO Lightweight belts to his trophy case in his most recent fight on February 28, 2009.

“This fight against Floyd Mayweather is undoubtedly the biggest in my professional career,” said Márquez. “The fact that this long awaited battle will be on the big screen in movie theaters across the United States is fantastic. I invite the fans everywhere to go to movie theaters so they can see everything live and in high definition on the big screen.”

Mayweather vs. Marquez: “Number One/Numero Uno” Fight LIVEappears on the big screen in high-definition with Cinema Surround Sound in select AMC Entertainment Inc., Celebration! Cinema, Cinemark Holdings, Inc., Cobb Theatres, Goodrich Quality Theaters, Hollywood Theaters, Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, Malco Theatres, Marcus Theatres, National Amusements and Regal Entertainment Group movie theaters, as well as Arlington Theatre (Santa Barbara, CA), The Carolina (Asheville, NC), Palace Cinema 9 (South Burlington, VT) and Penn Cinema (Lititz, PA), through NCM’s exclusive Digital Broadcast Network.

“NCM Fathom continues to offer something for everyone on the big screen and it does not get bigger than this,” said Dan Diamond, vice president of Fathom.

“This is the first boxing event offered through Fathom’s network to a select number of theaters across the country and fight fans won’t want to miss being ringside to see two of the greatest fighters of this era battle in a larger-than-life experience on the big screen.”

Tickets for Mayweather vs. Marquez: “Number One/Numero Uno” Fight LIVE are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, please visit www.FathomEvents.com (theaters and participants are subject to change).