Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza Responds To Critics Of Charlo Doubleheader PPV Price

Stephen Espinoza has a message for those who believe the pay-per-view price for the Charlo doubleheader is too expensive.

This Saturday, September 26, Showtime will be airing a stacked boxing card live on PPV. The Charlo twins will be in title action. Jermell Charlo will put his WBC Light-Middleweight Title on the line against Jeison Rosario, who will defend the WBA (Super) and IBF gold. Jermall Charlo’s WBC Middleweight Championship will be up for grabs against Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

Espinoza, the Showtime President of sports and event programming, responded to critics of the $74.95 PPV price during an interview with BoxingScene.com.

“I understand that there are a lot of people in this environment that are under financial pressures. Of course, that’s an impediment for the pay-per-view. But as a general comment, I don’t understand the complaints about the pay-per-view price. This the same price that it’s been for years and it’s double of what you typically get from a pay-per-view. Actually, it’s more than double because the quality of the fights up and down [the card] is way beyond the norm. We hear boxing fans asking for, ‘We want the best fighting the best.’ OK, well, how about a top-three guy in the division against another top-three guy in the division? Or, how about a unification fight with three belts on the line? OK, that’s the best fighting the best.”

Espinoza went on to say that there will always be fans who criticize. He feels the “true boxing fan” will be able to appreciate this weekend’s card and will see the value in it.

In total, this doubleheader will feature five title fights with one of them being a championship unification bout. The other title bouts include Luis Nery vs. Aaron Alameda for the vacant WBC Super-Bantamweight Title, John Riel Casimero vs. Duke Micah for the WBO Bantamweight Championship, and Brandon Figueroa vs. Damien Vazquez for the WBA Super-Bantamweight Championship.