ESPN DEPORTES ENHANCES ITS BOXING PROGRAMMING LINEUP
Weekly Boxing Program Debuts January 23; Legendary Boxer Marco Antonio Barrera Signed as Commentator; Bernardo Osuna Joins ESPN2 Friday Night Fights
Marco Antonio Barrera
In its continued commitment to better serve the U.S. Hispanic sports fan, ESPN Deportes announced today significant enhancements to its boxing programming lineup, highlighted with the launch of Golpe a Golpe, weekly, live news and analysis boxing program that will be co-hosted by legendary boxer Marco Antonio Barrera. In addition, the 2009 season of Viernes de Combate (Friday Night Fights) will premiere with numerous production enhancements, including its own Spanish-language studio show incorporated into each broadcast.
Set to debut Friday, January 23 at 6:30 p.m. ET, Golpe a Golpe will be ESPN Deportes’ first news and analysis show fully dedicated to the world of boxing. The live 30-minute program will be co-hosted by SportsCenter anchor Jorge Eduardo Sánchez and Marco Antonio Barrera. The Golpe a Golpe show will extend beyond television to include radio, online and wireless to broaden fan interaction. ESPNdeportes.com will dedicate a special page to the program featuring weekly chats, blogs and video segments with Barrera exclusively produced for online. Content on ESPN Deportes Mobile will be blogs, videos and audio podcasts of the show.
“This is the beginning of an exciting new era for boxing on ESPN Deportes,” said Lino Garcia, general manager, ESPN Deportes.” “Boxing is one of the most popular sports among Hispanics and with this program we hope to fill the void for consistent boxing news and information on Spanish-language television.”
“We are proud to add Marco Antonio, a boxing legend and hero for millions of fans, to our commentator lineup,” said Chris Calcinari, vice president, production and operations, ESPN Deportes, ESPN International. “His experience will bring instant credibility to the show.”
In addition, starting with the 2009 season, boxing series Viernes de Combates will feature its own Spanish-language production of a special show incorporated into each broadcast. The program will originate from Bristol, Connecticut and feature Jose Hernandez and Leopoldo Gonzales as hosts, joined by a special in-studio guest analyst. ESPN Deportes’David Faitelson and Robert Sierra Noches will call the action for Viernes de Combates set to premiere January 30 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PST. with main event Herman Ngoudjo (17-2, 19 KO’s) vs. Juan Urango (20-1-1, 16 KO’s) of Colombia for the vacant IBF Jr. Welterweight title.
Barrera has left his mark in every division in which he has set foot - from Super Flyweight to Super Featherweight - earning world titles in three weight classes. He caught the boxing world’s attention February 3, 1996, after defeating former IBF Super Bantamweight Champion, Kennedy McKinney (28-1-1). Today, a 16-year veteran of the sport, Barrera is a seven-time world champion in three different weight classes WBO Super Bantamweight (122 lb), IBO / WBC Featherweight (126 lb), WBC Super Featherweight (130 lb) and IBF Junior Lightweight (130 lb) divisions, Barrera (61-4, 42 KOs) is without question one of the greatest Mexican fighters of all-time. On January 8, 2009, Barrera announced that he will face Johnny Nolasco of the Dominican Republic in Guadalajara, Mexico on January 31, 2009.
In addition to the boxing enhancements on ESPN Deportes, ESPN2 Friday Night Fights will feature former Telefutura Solo Boxeo analyst Bernardo Osuna throughout the network’s 2009 coverage. Osuna will be featured as part of a rotating panel that will appear in-studio on select telecasts. The entire rotating panel will be announced at a later date and will feature Bernard Hopkins. One of the most respected boxing journalists on Spanish-language television brings a wealth of knowledge on Hispanic up-and-coming boxers to ESPN2 Friday Night Fights. His professional achievements include the prestigious Sam Taub Award for excellence in broadcast journalism presented by the Boxing Writer’s Association of America, three Emmy awards, seven Golden Mic awards by the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California and a Journalist of the Year award by the World Boxing Association in 1997.
See you at the Fights.
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