In Phoenix area, it's Showtime for live top combat sports events, from boxing to MMA

The Phoenix area has, over the past couple of years, become a hotbed for live combat sports events and a destination for Showtime, the leading cable network for big-name boxing cards.

Local fight fans have been treated to a pair of Showtime cards headlined by Phoenix native David Benavidez, who won the WBC interim super middleweight championship at was is now Desert Diamond Arena in May, plus Bellator 273 featuring local resident and current heavyweight champion Ryan Bader at Footprint Center in January on Showtime.

In November 2021, Benavidez and older brother José Jr. were on the same fight card on Showtime at Footprint Center, and there have been two major UFC events that packed their respective local venues, UFC 263 in June 2021 and UFC 274 in May 2022, both pay-per-views produced by that company.

Next week, former YouTube sensation-turned pro fighter Jake Paul faces former mixed martial arts star Anderson Silva at Glendale's Desert Diamond Arena. The fight and an undercard featuring former NFL running back Le'Veon Bell in a boxing match will air on Showtime Pay-Per-View.

Since Paul draws a younger crowd, Showtime is counting on some fans who know him from social media and YouTube and who have never seen him fight and might be curious. Showtime worked with Paul's promotion company, Most Valuable Promotions, to select the Phoenix area for the fight, then went with the Glendale facility because Footprint Center is booked next Friday and Sunday for Phoenix Suns home games.

"We look at the track record of recent events, whether it be boxing events, like the Benavidez events or MMA events, or even sporting events and concerts more generally. It's clear, there's a very rabid, young, active fan base there that's starving for more live events in the Phoenix area," said Stephen Espinoza, president of Sports & Event Programming for Showtime.

"There really wasn't much arm twisting involved in this particular event (Paul vs. Silva). We have been there. We, Showtime, had been in Phoenix a couple times over the last year and had a really great experience. And UFC did extremely well with their gate. So, you know, with the young demographic and Jake's fan base, it just made all the sense. And as soon as we found that there were some venue availabilities it was a no brainer to come to Phoenix."

Espinoza, an El Paso, Texas, native of Mexican descent, has long felt that the Southwest U.S. has been somewhat underrepresented in terms of boxing events. With Phoenix a top-10 market in terms of population and Mexican and Mexican American fans driving attendance as the core audience, it makes business sense to put on major boxing shows in the city.

Showtime has taken over as the standard bearer for live top-tier and world championship boxing coverage, having produced the three highest-grossing pay-per-views of all time. All involved Floyd Mayweather against Manny Pacquiao, Conor McGregor and Canelo Alvarez.

The current Showtime and partner Premier Boxing Champions roster of fighters includes Gervonta Davis, Errol Spence Jr., Jermell and Jermall Charlo, former champions Benavidez, Nonito Donaire, Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia and rising stars in Sebastian Fundora, Tim Tszyu, Jaron Ennis and Gary Antuanne Russell.

Phoenix has reached the point of being a top-tier boxing market, Espinoza said, and one of Showtime's most popular destinations. And the future for more events looks bright.

Benavidez, at 25 still in his prime, said Phoenix is looking for the next boxing star to come out of the area. He's a fan favorite due to his Mexican roots, and even though he lives out of the area with his family is still strongly connected to the city.

"I'm really grateful to have the fan base out in Phoenix, Arizona, and I've also put in the work, you know, three-time world champion," he said. "I rep Phoenix, Arizona really hard you know. It's a place where I feel like there's a lot of talent and I feel like it's also a fighting city. People love to watch combat sports, not even only only for boxing but for UFC. A lot of people come out and support, so I feel like it's a perfect destination and place to host a big boxing event or big combat sport event."

Benavidez and his camp are working on a main event in a pay-per-view, perhaps in February against either Caleb Plant, David Morrell or even Alvarez. Being a big part of Showtime cards has made him not quite a star, he says, but an important figure in the sport.

"At the end of the day, all I've wanted to do is give the fans a great fight, an action-packed fight, and that's what I've been doing. And hopefully I can get them better fights in the future," he said.

Espinoza likes the potential of Casa Grande's Jesús Ramos Jr., a 21-year-old super welterweight who is 19-0 and won an undercard bout in his last fight in late May at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. That card was also on Showtime Pay-Per-View.

"You're already starting ahead if you've got a Mexican American fighter or a Mexican fighter, and you've got a great built-in demographic in Phoenix," Espinoza said. "That's going to immediately put Phoenix on the shortlist for any of those big fights."

Showtime also airs Bellator MMA cards from all over the world, and the Phoenix area is a home base for several of the top competitors in the sport, including Bader.

Bader said Phoenix has a "fighting culture" with good local wrestling programs, including Arizona State.

"I've heard they (Bellator) want to come back and so hopefully it happens," Bader said. "I'd love to fight again and defend the heavyweight championship once again here in Phoenix."

Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: In Phoenix area, it's Showtime for live top combat sports events