March 29, 2024

Showtime confirms Oct. 14 card featuring three title fights

Showtime will be airing three 154lb title fights on one telecast.

It’s official. Showtime’s planned tripleheader of junior middleweight title fights has been confirmed for October 14 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The telecast will feature Erislandy Lara (24-2-2, 14 KOs) defending his WBA strap against unbeaten Olympian Terrell Gausha (20-0, 9 KOs); Jarrett Hurd (20-0, 14 KOs) defending his IBF title against Austin Trout (30-3, 17 KOs); and Jermell Charlo (29-0, 14 KOs) putting his WBC title on the line against Erickson Lubin (18-0, 13 KOs).

Tickets for the fight in Brooklyn are scheduled to go on sale tomorrow morning at 10am ET.

Lara, speaking on his title defense, had this to say about the match-up:

“I’m very excited to be making another title defense back on SHOWTIME headlining a great tripleheader,” said Lara. “This is an interesting fight versus an undefeated U.S. Olympian in Terrell Gausha. I know he will be ready because it’s his opportunity to beat the best fighter in the division and become a champion. But come fight night, he will quickly realize and know why I’m the consensus No. 1 super welterweight in the world. After this performance, I look forward to, one-by-one, adding a WBC and IBF title to my collection.”

His opponent, Gausha, says this opportunity has been a long time coming:

“I’ve been talking about this since I was a three-year-old watching Muhammad Ali on television,” said Gausha. “I’m here now and blessed for this opportunity. Lara’s a tough fighter, champion and the best opponent I’ll fight on paper. He’s been in with the bigger names. But the better the opponent, the better I am, and I’m coming to dethrone him. He’s crafty, but the world hasn’t seen all that I can bring to the table. I’ll make adjustments on the fly and do things that I’ve never shown before. Seeing other Olympic team members win titles gives me motivation to earn the victory and the notoriety I’ve been looking for.”

Jarrett Hurd says he’s about to go fishing:

“I got a Trout to catch,’’ said Hurd. “His losses have all been to top champions Canelo Alvarez, Erislandy Lara and Jermall Charlo. But I’m on a streak of six straight knockouts and Trout has never been stopped, so I’m looking for the stoppage to make a statement that the other fighters couldn’t make. This is definitely my toughest fight, and I didn’t have to take it since it’s a voluntary defense. But I wanted this fight to stop Austin Trout, proving to the fans and people in general I’m the real deal and a true champion.”

And Trout says he’s blessed to have the opportunity to fight for another world title:

“What a blessing it is to have this opportunity at a world title shot,” said Trout. “I want to thank everyone who has been in my corner to help get me career defining fights. It’s refreshing to see young champions showing heart and testing their skill with the best in the game. With that said, salute to Hurd for allowing this fight to go through.”

Lastly, for the main event of the night, Jermell Charlo says he’s not going to let a such a young contender come in and take his belt, mentioning that it might be a little too soon for Lubin:

“Lubin is young and hungry and I know he always comes to fight, but there’s a reason why I’m where I am in the sport,” said Charlo. “I’ve been through the trenches and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon. This is what boxing always needs — two young, undefeated fighters willing to risk their ‘0’. But I think it’s a little early for Lubin to step in the ring with me, and I plan on keeping my title. October 14 I’ll show everyone why I’m a world champion.”

And finally Lubin says he’s ready to make his mark as boxing’s next superstar:

“This is a fight for the fans,” said Lubin. “You have an undefeated champion against an undefeated Prospect of the Year. I’m very excited to be fighting for the belt and it’s truly been a dream of mine ever since I first got into boxing. Come fight night, Charlo will either give it to me or I’m going to rip the belt out of his hands. Many fans and reporters have said that he’s one of the best, and that will make it even sweeter. My mentality will be to seek and destroy, so everyone tune-in to SHOWTIME on October 14, you will witness boxing’s new superstar!”

All the action goes down on Saturday night, October 14, live on Showtime.

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