Showtime to stream Frampton-Jackson, Fury-Pianeta

Showtime will stream two fights from Belfast on August 18 on its YouTube and Facebook channels, giving American fans an easy way to watch the featherweight title main event between Carl Frampton and Luke Jackson, and the heavyweight co-feature between Tyson Fury and Francesco Pianeta.

Frampton (25-1, 14 KO) will be defending his interim WBO 126-pound title against Jackson (16-0, 7 KO), who is coming from Australia for the bout. The 31-year-old Frampton has won two straight, beating Horacio Garcia and Nonito Donaire, following a January 2017 loss to Leo Santa Cruz in a rematch.

Jackson, 33, is taking an utterly massive step up in competition, and has never even been in a scheduled 12-round bout before.

Fury (26-0, 19 KO) is the big reason a lot of folks will tune in, one suspects, as he’s banging on about a possible late 2018 fight against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, which would be a big fight, and thrust him back into the true spotlight for the first time since his 2015 win over Wladimir Klitschko.

Pianeta (35-4-1, 21 KO) is a journeyman, a 33-year-old Italian fighting out of Germany, who has stoppage losses to Wladimir Klitschko, Ruslan Chagaev, and even Kevin Johnson, plus he was beaten by prospect Peter Milas in his last fight.