By Ryan Burton

SHOWTIME Sports on Friday announced seven live boxing telecasts over a 12-week span, a stacked lineup featuring nine world championship fights and 14 overall matches in boxing’s deepest and most exciting divisions.

The full slate of programming is free to SHOWTIME subscribers, and the presentation on CBS is the first Prime Time boxing event on CBS television network in decades.

Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President & General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports, also announced a summer blockbuster in the making.

“This is an incredibly exciting time in boxing, a time for emerging stars to make their mark, and for established champions to break through to the next level,” Espinoza said.

“This schedule features high level matchups with champions taking on the highest-rated contenders available, and top-ranked challengers facing one another.  We are thrilled and grateful to the promoters and the fighters themselves who have worked with us these last few weeks to put together such an impressive lineup for SHOWTIME Boxing.  It has to be one of the best we've ever assembled.

“We have seven live telecasts over a 12-week span that runs the gamut of our SHOWTIME boxing series. It includes nine world title fights, and that doesn't count a great fight that's just coming together today, as both Leo Santa Cruz and Carl Frampton have now agreed to a championship matchup to be scheduled for late summer.

Saturday, June 25 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on CBS Presented by PBC

Main Event: Keith Thurman (26-0, 1 ND, 22 KOs) vs. Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs) – WBA Welterweight World Championship

Co-Feature: Jesus Cuellar (28-1, 21 KOs) vs. Abner Mares (29-2-1, 15 KOs) – WBA (reg.) Featherweight World Championship