FUTURE HALL OF FAMER BERNARD HOPKINS ADDED TO THE SHOWTIME® ANNOUNCE TEAM FOR JUNE 22

 

 

NEW YORK (June 18, 2013) – Future Hall of Famer and current IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard Hopkins will be a guest commentator on this Saturday’s live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^® telecast (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Boxing’s ageless wonder, Hopkins will serve as an expert analyst joining host Brian Kenny, announcers Mauro Ranallo (blow-by-blow) and Al Bernstein (expert analyst) and ringside reporter Jim Gray.

The legendary, 48-year-old Hopkins will add his insight from the SHOWTIME seat usually occupied by Paulie Malignaggi, who will relocate from the ring apron to the inside of the ring on Saturday evening as he defends his WBA Welterweight World Championship against undefeated current WBC Lightweight and Two-Division World Champion Adrien Broner in what will be a heated, highly-charged 12-round main event.

ABOUT “MALIGNAGGI VS BRONER”:
Malignaggi vs. Broner, a 12-round fight for Malignaggi’s WBA Welterweight World Championship, will take place Saturday, June 22, 2013 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.  The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and R & R Promotions, supported by Golden Boy Promotions’ sponsors Corona and AT&T and will be televised live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.  In the co-featured bouts, Johnathon Banks will look to repeat his 2012 upset win over Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell as he defends his NABO and WBC International Heavyweight titles in a 12-round fight presented in association with K2 Promotions and number one rated WBC super middleweight contender Sakio Bika faces number four rated WBC super middleweight contender Marco Antonio Periban in a 12-round fight for the vacant WBC Super Middle weight World Championship.  SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^® is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP).  Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $250, $125, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes and service charges, are on sale now at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling 800-745-3000 and at the American Express Box Office.  For group tickets, please call 800-GROUP-BK.

PAUL WILLIAMS IN FIRST TELEVISED INTERVIEW SINCE MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT

Jim Gray (L) interviews Paul Williams in a segment that is set to air Saturday on Showtime's "Knockout Kings" broadcast. (Photo: Esther Lin/SHOWTIME)

In his first televised interview since he was paralyzed from the waist down in a motorcycle accident in May, former World Champion Paul Williams spoke with Emmy Award-winning sports reporter Jim Gray on the eve of “Knockout Kings,” a four-fight boxing event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.  The special one-on-one interview will air as part of Saturday’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast which begins live at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on SHOWTIME.  Williams is expected to attend the event on Saturday.

In the session taped on Friday at MGM Grand, an optimistic Williams spoke in-depth about the accident, his ongoing recovery and his goals for the future.

“My game ain’t over,” said Williams in the interview. “Whether I am walking or not walking, my game ain’t over until the Lord takes my life.”

After the interview, Gray said, “It was amazing how someone who suffered such a life-changing event was so positive and so upbeat.  This interview convinced me that Paul Williams’ greatness is in his future.”