PBC making plans, including bringing Tszyu-Thurman back to life
It would be a non-PPV event as will unified 154 titlist Fundora's defense in March. See what is in the works over the next few months
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The rumors of Premier Boxing Champions’ demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Al Haymon’s outfit, which will turn 10 in March, is not as busy as it once was since the demise of Showtime Sports at the end of 2023 and the end of its deal with Fox in 2022. There also has been less activity than company officials had hoped for under its new deal with Amazon’s Prime Video platform, which consisted of four pay-per-view events in 2024 and one non-PPV in October — far fewer events than were promised when the deal was rolled out.
While the pay-per-views will remain part of the schedule — light heavyweights David Benavidez and David Morrell collide in an A-level main event on Feb. 1 and Gervonta Davis will defend his lightweight title against junior lightweight titlist Lamont Roach Jr. in the March 1 headliner — more non-PPVs are on the way beginning in March, sources told Fight Freaks Unite.
Some of those bouts would involve Keith Thurman and Tim Tszyu, who could see their canceled fight from last year be rescheduled for the summer as a non-PPV, as well as unified junior middleweight titlist Sebastian Fundora and promising middleweight Elijah Garcia.
Here’s a look at some of PBC’s plans for the coming months:
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Former unified welterweight titleholder Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs), 36, of Clearwater, Florida, will end a nearly three-year layoff, caused primarily by injuries, and head to Australia to face Brock Jarvis (22-1, 20 KOs), 27, in a junior middleweight fight on March 12 at Hordern Pavilion in Sydney. That fight was announced on Wednesday.
While it is a pay-per-view in Australia, PBC has the U.S. rights and is discussing the timing of the event with Prime Video. It could stream on Prime Video, but if not it will be available in the U.S., probably on the PBC YouTube channel, a source with knowledge of those talks told Fight Freaks Unite.
In April, the plan is for Tszyu to return to fight in his native Australia, probably against Joey Spencer, in a fight that would stream on Prime Video, one of the sources said.
Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs), 30, is looking to rebound from back-to-back defeats, a bloody split decision loss to Fundora last March that cost him the WBO junior middleweight title and a chance to win the vacant WBC title followed by a shocking third-round knockout loss challenging Bakhram Murtazaliev in October in Orlando, Florida. That was the main event of the one non-PPV card that has so far streamed on Prime Video.
Spencer (19-1, 11 KOs), 24, of Fenton, Michigan, was a tremendously hyped PBC prospect before Jesus Ramos knocked him out in the seventh round in March 2023, but he has won three fights in a row since.
If Thurman and Tszyu win their upcoming bouts, one of the sources said they have already agreed to fight each other. That fight is penciled in for the summer (either in the U.S. or Australia) and it would headline a show that would be a non-PPV in the U.S.
Last March, Thurman was due to come off a long layoff to fight then-WBO junior middleweight titlist Tszyu in a 155-pound nontitle bout that was slated to headline the first PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However, Thurman suffered a biceps injury and had to withdraw from the fight 12 days beforehand.
Instead, Tszyu faced Fundora, who moved up from the undercard, in a title fight and lost a split decision in a gruesome bloodbath that cost him his belt and the chance to win the vacant WBC belt.
Fundora has not fought since winning the two belts against Tszyu because of a nose injury suffered in the fight as well as plans for a fight with former three-belt welterweight titlist Errol Spence Jr. continually being delayed.
It was just last week that the plans for Fundora-Spence to headline a PPV on March 29 were scuttled when Spence withdrew because he was not yet ready to return. A source said the key reason was because he is still trying to settle on a head trainer after a nasty split with career-long trainer Derrick James, who sued him in a dispute over his pay.
Fundora instead will defend against fellow southpaw Chordale Booker on March 22 (possibly March 29) in a non-PPV card that likely will take place at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, the sources said.
Booker (23-1, 11 KOs)., 33, of Stamford, Connecticut, has won six fights in a row since a first-round knockout loss to Austin “Ammo” Williams in April 2022.
If Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs), 27, of Coachella, California, beats Booker, a pay-per-view fight with Spence could be back in play for the summer, the sources said. One of the sources said that a reason for the selection of Booker as an opponent is to give Fundora a look at a southpaw as preparation for Spence, who is also a left-hander.
If Spence 28-1, 22 KOs), 34, of DeSoto, Texas, is still not ready for the summer, Fundora could instead face former undisputed junior middleweight titlist Jermell Charlo (35-2, 19 KOs), 34, of Houston, according to the sources.
Beset by personal problems, Charlo has not fought since moving up from junior middleweight to super middleweight to challenge Canelo Alvarez for the undisputed title in September 2023. Charlo got knocked down and lost a near-shutout decision.
Middleweight Garcia (16-1, 13 KOs), 21, a southpaw from Phoenix, will face Terrell Gausha, a former middleweight and junior middleweight title challenger, on the Fundora-Booker card.
Garcia remains a quality prospect although he is coming off an upset 10-round split decision loss to Kyrone Davis on the Davis-Frank Martin PBC on Prime Video PPV card in June.
Gausha (24-4-1, 12 KOs), 37, of Encino, California, was also on the card in his last fight as he dropped a lopsided decision challenging Carlos Adames for the WBC middleweight title.
Garcia-Gausha was being looked at to headline a non-PPV Prime Video card on Feb. 15 in Orlando, Florida, but plans for that show were scrapped.
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Photos: Esther Lin/PBC
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I’m all for less PPV, but if PBC is relying on Thurman (fights once every 3 years and is 36), Spence (will be innactive for 2 years this July) Jermell Charlo ( if he’s not back until summer, nearly 2 years) they’ve got some major problems..really looking forward to Benavidez/Morell though.
I took a look at the PBC roster on their website. It's a mess. Wildly outdated with long retired boxers (Devon Alexander, Abner Mares, Mikey Garcia), non-PBC fighters (Crawford), or simply over the hill names (Jarred Hurd, Tony Harrison, Rigondeaux).
I'm a fan of all boxing, not just promotional outfits. But it's sad that not only is PBC struggling with dates and keeping their fighters active, but the top end of their roster is thin while the middle is middling at best.
I hoped that when Showing Boxing shut down they'd hit the ground running on Amazon but it appears Al Haymon's reported health hiatus and Amazon's non-PPV apathy is really hurting PBC. Let's hope '25 is better than '24.
https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters