Showtime Executive talks the impact of Mayweather – McGregor

On August 26th, the future hall of fame 5-weight world champion, Floyd Mayweather remarkably recorded the 50th victory of his professional career against Conor McGregor. A move which many inside the boxing fraternity viewed in the lead up to the fight as another potential black eye for the sport due to the fact such an event questioned the credibility of the sport on a wide scale given the interest the fight had amassed coupled with the fact not many gave McGregor any chance in a professional bout under the Marquess of Queensbury rules.

Stephen Espinoza, has become somewhat of a recognisable face in recent memory, the Executive V.P. and G.M. of Showtime Sports, has played a pivotal role for the network being the man responsible for putting together the best possible matchups for the network. Espinoza touched on the lasting legacy of the crossover money-spinning landmark event between ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor and Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, which Mayweather won via a stoppage in the 10th round and Espinoza argued that in all actuality, the bout has presented more positive effects than negative.

Speaking with boxingscene.com, Espinoza first likened the build-up to the event to the release of a summer blockbuster movie. Espinoza explained “It’s hard not to get caught up in the hype and go to IMAX and go see it on the big screen and get caught up in the excitement, the drama and the explosions, the fireworks and all of that,” Espinoza went on to argue that the unique nature of the fight made it that much more compelling and made the event must-see television.

Espinoza also touched on the impact of Conor McGregor and more particularly the impact of his sizeable following on boxing too, he went on to explain that the event introduced a whole new set of fans, “particularly young fans” to the sweet science which bodes well for the future. Espinoza’s interpretation of the lasting effect of this matchup is that “there was a whole legion of teenagers who follow Conor McGregor who are talking about boxing” and on a final note, Espinoza explained his summations of the effects on boxing following the aftermath of the event “It’s absolutely a positive thing”.