NEW YORK (March 24, 2009) – Over a span of 28 days SHOWTIME Sports will feature a frenzied fight schedule, with late March and April filled with championship fights and meaningful matchups. With two highly anticipated SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts, two installments of ShoBox: The New Generation and the debut telecast from leading MMA promoter Strikeforce, almost every weekend features a can’t-miss event.
It kicks off when undefeated super middleweight prospect and 2004 Olympic Bronze medalist Andre Dirrell (17-0, 12 KOs) takes on Derrick Findley (13-2, 8 KOs) on Saturday, March 28, in a 10-round super middleweight fight in a special Saturday edition of ShoBox: The New Generation.
Exactly one week later, SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING showcases a world championship unification bout when WBC 140-pound champ Timothy Bradley (23-0, 11 KOs) takes on WBO champ Kendall Holt (25-2, 13 KOs) on Saturday, April 4, live from the Bell Centre in Montreal with a special start time of 10:45 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) to accommodate fans watching the conclusion of the 2009 NCAA® Men’s Final Four®.
The following week features the highly anticipated debut of Strikeforce on SHOWTIME on Saturday, April 11, live from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. MMA pioneer Frank Shamrock takes on irreverent slugger Nick Diaz and Josh Thomson defends his Strikeforce lightweight title against Gilbert Melendez in a rematch. Also on the telecast is female MMA fight between Cris Cyborg and Hitomi Akano, and former champ Scott Smith takes on Benji Radach.
Six days later on Friday, April 17, ShoBox brings fans another stylistic matchup with world title implications when Yuriorkis Gamboa (13-0, 11 KOs) squares off against Jose Rojas (25-6-1, 17 KOs) for the interim WBA featherweight title.
To top off a spectacular month of April, SHOWTIME gives fans another world championship fight the following night on Saturday, April 25, when WBC super middleweight champ Carl Froch (24-0, 19 KOs) takes on former middleweight champ Jermain Taylor (28-2-1, 17 KOs) live from MGM Foxwoods in Mashantucket, Conn.
For a complete schedule of SHOWTIME Sports telecasts, plus exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, photos and interviews, please visit http://sports.SHO.com
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