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Podcast: Figueroa-Magsayo preview; interviews with Jarrett Hurd, Showtime's Stephen Espinoza

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Podcast: Figueroa-Magsayo preview; interviews with Jarrett Hurd, Showtime's Stephen Espinoza

Plus: News of the week; 20th anniversary of historic Roy Jones win

Dan Rafael
Mar 3, 2023
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A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.

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The significant card of the weekend is a Showtime PBC tripleheader on Saturday night in Ontario, California, headlined by the Brandon Figueroa-Mark Magsayo WBC interim featherweight title bout. We previewed and discussed that card, which also includes the return from a long layoff of former unified junior middleweight champion Jarrett Hurd. There’s also my interview with Hurd and my interview with Showtime Sports president Steven Espinoza. I covered several topics with both of them. We also covered some of the week’s news and looked back on the 20th anniversary of a huge fight.

Here is what’s on the show (in order):

  • A preview of the expected action fight between Figueroa and Magsayo and Hurd’s return after a nearly two-year layoff to face Armando Resendiz in the middleweight co-feature.

  • My interview with Hurd. We covered several topics, including the Covid-19 death of his father and taking time off; what sparked his to return; what surprised me about our van ride together to the airport on the morning after Hurd won his first world title in 2017; his big win over Erislandy Lara to unify in the 2018 fight of the year; his title loss to Julian Williams; the disastrous loss to Luis Arias in the rain; his plan to go back to the all-out pressure fighter he was before trying to become more of a boxer; and what kind of bigger fight does he have his eye on.

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  • Initial thoughts on the three cards Showtime added to its already busy schedule this week: April 8 headlined by Sebastian Fundora’s WBC interim middleweight title defense vs. Brian Mendoza; May 13 Alberto Puello defending the WBA junior welterweight title vs. Rolando Romero; and June 24 Carlos Adames defending the WBC interim middleweight belt vs. Julian Williams.

  • My interview with Espinoza. We covered several topics, including finally getting the Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia fight signed; what the future might hold for the winner of the March 25 David Benavidez-Caleb Plant Showtime PPV fight; what Showtime becoming part of Paramount+ means for the future of its boxing franchise; his thoughts on the three shows the network announced this week; and what other sorts of fights are soon to be added to the schedule.

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  • The disappointing news that Amanda Serrano is injured and the highly anticipated rematch with Katie Taylor scheduled for May 20 has been postponed.

  • Terence Crawford being ordered to make his mandatory WBO welterweight title defense against Alexis Rocha and why it might lead to a deal with Golden Boy.

  • Memories on the 20th anniversary of the great Roy Jones Jr.’s move up in weight and his historic victory over John Ruiz for the WBA heavyweight title in what was a massive event and an all-time great performance.

Listen, rate, review, subscribe and enjoy!

Figueroa-Magsayo photo: Esther Lin/Showtime


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