Showtime Pulls Out All The Stops For Mayweather vs. Guerrero
Showtime Sports has scheduled more than 100 hours of diverse boxing and documentary programming across broadcast television, cable television, premium television, and digital portals in advance of the upcoming Showtime PPV presentation of May Day-the mega-event headlined by boxing’s No. 1 pound-for-pound titlist Floyd “Money” Mayweather’s welterweight world championship defense against former world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, Saturday, May 4 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The lineup features more than 20 hours of live, edited and exclusive content targeted for a general sports audience as well as the core boxing fans and includes two documentary films, a five-part documentary series, a 30-minute countdown show, two live Showtime Championship Boxing events and live coverage from multiple fight week events, all before the first bell of May Day: Mayweather vs. Guerrero pay-per-view special.
Showtime Sports has tapped renowned television executive Ross Greenburg, recipient of more than 50 Sports Emmy® Awards in his distinguished career, to serve as executive producer on two key pieces of programming.
Working with Showtime for the first time, Greenburg is uniquely qualified to guide the editorial on Mayweather, having executive produced multiple documentary series on the fighter since 2007.
“This is an aggressive and varied lineup of content, each element aimed at raising the anticipation for boxing’s marquee event of the year,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Showtime Sports.
“The Mayweather appeal is unmistakable and warrants this type of unprecedented exposure. What viewers will find during this promotion, however, is that Robert Guerrero is one of the most compelling, interesting and talented fighters ever to step into the ring opposite Mayweather.
“I thank my colleagues at Showtime and CBS for their support and enthusiasm since our agreement with Mayweather was announced. Our collective aim in the next seven weeks is to serve the insatiable appetite of the staunchest boxing fans as well as to expose a broad audience to the drama and the intensity that is sure to come on May 4th.”
The programming blitz begins on Wednesday, April 3 with the premiere of an exclusive documentary film titled “30 Days In May” (10 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime), a one-hour film which chronicles Mayweather’s 2012 stint in prison. Created exclusively from never-before-seen footage, “30 Days In May” features the only interviews Mayweather conducted about what he has called “a life-changing experience.”
On Wednesday, April 10, Showtime Sports will debut the latest chapter of its original documentary series All Access (10 p.m. ET/PT, Showtime. Greenburg will serve as an executive producer on All Access: Mayweather vs Guerrero as the series takes viewers into the dramatic and unpredictable world of prize fighting. From gritty backstories to the sport’s biggest stage, All Access has a unique approach that allows its subjects to guide the narrative on real life terms. New episodes will debut every Wednesday through May 1 on Showtime, with encore presentations airing on CBS Sports Network.
All Access Epilogue, which will spotlight the intensity of fight week, taking viewers inside the ropes on fight night and into the rarely seen, uncelebrated aftermath of world championship boxing, will premiere on Showtime on Saturday, May 18 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.
CBS Television will broadcast a special one-hour documentary titled “Mayweather” on Saturday, April 27, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Greenburg will executive produce “Mayweather”, a film that reveals the life story of the charismatic character that is Floyd “Money” Mayweather. The program also examines the hard-working, humble approach taken by Four-Division World Champion Robert Guerrero, who has endured incredible challenges on the road to this May 4th mega fight.
Live Programming:
On the two Saturdays preceding the May 4 Showtime PPV event, Showtime will present two high profile world championship boxing events live on the premium network’s acclaimed Showtime Championship Boxing series.
On Saturday, April 20, from the 43,000+ seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez will return to Showtime to headline against Austin Trout in a super welterweight world championship unification bout. In separate fights in 2012, both men set ratings records for boxing on Showtime. Now, they collide in what is by far the most significant and challenging fight in both of their careers.
On Saturday, April 27, live on Showtime from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., undefeated rising star Danny Garcia of Philadelphia risks his unified super lightweight world championship against former Two-Division and Four-Time World Champion Zab Judah of Brooklyn.
Live Form Las Vegas:
Showtime will televise the official weigh-in live on Friday, May 3 and a pre-fight show on Saturday, May 4, immediately preceding the pay-per-view. Each telecast will include live interviews, All Access behind-the-scenes features from fight week and, on Saturday’s program, live undercard fights.
May Day Fight Week Lineup:
A fight week blitz will begin on Monday, April 29, with daily programming on Showtime, Showtime Extreme and CBS Sports Network leading up to May 4. Included in the lineup will be All Access marathons, classic Mayweather and Guerrero fights, as well as the aforementioned live programming from Las Vegas.
Classic Fights:
Encore presentations of classic bouts featuring Mayweather and Guerrero will air on Showtime, Showtime Extreme and CBS Sports Network. Fights, airing in their entirety, are Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya, the most watched pay-per-view event in history; the controversial fight between Mayweather and Victor Ortiz; Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton; Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley and Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez.
Classic Fights (continued):
Full fights from the Guerrero archive include the southpaw’s gutsy, breakthrough performances against Selcuk Aydin, Michael Katsidis, Gamaliel Diaz (rematch) as well as his first fight after learning of his wife’s diagnosis of Leukemia in 2007, a first-round knockout win over Martin Honorio.
Digital:
For the digital audience, Showtime will present original long and short form content, both live and edited, in English and Spanish on Sports.SHO.com and SHO.com and will distribute this content to all partner and pay-per-view distributor websites.
– Sho Stream: live streaming of the final press conference on Wednesday, May 1, and the official weigh in on Friday, May 3;
– Staredown hosted by Showtime Sports’ Brian Kenny featuring Mayweather and his uncle Roger Mayweather as well as Guerrero and his father Ruben;
– The aforementioned full length fights featuring Mayweather and Guerrero plus co-featured fighters Daniel Ponce De Leon and Abner Mares;
– Complete All Access: Mayweather vs Guerrero Episode 1 following its television premiere on Showtime and CBS Sports Network;
– Online exclusive “All Access: Web Extras” and All Access outtakes;
– Highlight reels from the fighters on the card;
– Expert analysis of the key May Day: Mayweather vs. Guerrero match-ups.
Showtime PPV has produced and distributed a broad range of sports and entertainment programs in its history. Beginning in 1987 with The Grateful Dead New Year’s Eve Celebration Live, Showtime PPV has aired over 75 events including many of the most watched boxing pay-per-view events in history featuring legends Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Julio Cesar Chavez and Manny Pacquiao.
May Day: Mayweather vs. Guerrero, a 12-round fight for Mayweather’s WBC Welterweight Championship, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and O’Reilly Auto Parts.
The mega-event will take place Saturday, May 4 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by Showtime Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Also featured will be Daniel Ponce de Leon vs. Abner Mares, a 12-round fight for Ponce de Leon’s WBC Featherweight World Championship.
Tickets for “May Day: Mayweather vs. Guerrero” priced at $1,500, $1,250, $800, $600, $300 and $200, not including applicable service charges, are on sale now. There is a total ticket limit of 12 per person with a limit of 10 per person at the $1,500, $1,250, $800, $600 and $300 price levels and limit of two per person at the $200 price level. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets will also be available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.