Boxing series ‘ShoBox’ reaches 15th anniversary with an impressive body of results

Showtime’s prospect-showcase boxing series, “ShoBox: The New Generation,” fittingly marks its 15th anniversary Friday night with a typical challenge for its main-event fighter.

After three tests against unbeaten foes on the series, undefeated super-bantamweight Adam Lopez meets a once-beaten opponent.

“It wasn’t a hard sell at the start because it was unique and different from any other boxing series, and I believe that is what’s helped sustain it,” said Showtime’s Gordon Hall, executive producer of the series from its inception. “It was nothing but top prospects in competitive matchups, which you don’t normally see.

“I believe it’s good to match a young prospect tough. It helps escalate their career at a faster pace and it gets them to where they want to be, as a contender. Our goal was to develop prospects into contenders. That gets them to achieve their goals to be a champion.”

At the 15th anniversary, 142 ShoBox graduates have fought for world titles, 67 have become world champions and 150 have suffered their first loss.

Graduates include unbeaten heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, unbeaten former super-middleweight champion Andre Ward and former welterweight champion Timothy Bradley.

“What we have done in showing fighters multiple times, developing them and getting them to graduate and go on … it’s worked,” Hall said.

After launching the series under former Showtime sports head Jay Larkin with ties to just two promoters, Main Events and England’s Frank Warren, “ShoBox” expanded to connections with every major promoter and will use fighters from four different promoters on Friday’s card at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

While concessions – such as in the case of 2008 U.S. Olympic gold-medalist Ward – are made, the Showtime push is for competitive fights.

“Andre’s first three fights were not that tough, but it was still important for the series to have the returning gold medalist, one of the top prospects in boxing. So sometimes you compromise to get a star,” Hall said. “But the history of prospects is they’d be fighting at 4 p.m. in Vegas on an undercard in front of nobody. We’re giving them a little platform, to get a little experience under the light and be televised in competitive matchups, which is important.”

Important because Hall has seen his original theory realized by fighters such as Bradley and former two-division world champion Robert Guerrero.

“Tim Bradley is the poster boy,” Hall said. “He turned from prospect to contender, then he went to England and won the world title against Junior Witter on ‘ShoBox.’ It was the culmination of everything you want to have. This young, polite kid from outside Palm Springs. who had the work ethic and ability to get to that level … we couldn’t have been happier. We probably stayed up all night after that. To see the maturation from a prospect to a world champion, it couldn’t get any better.

“And we’ve had good fighters lose, like Guerrero, who lost to Gamaliel Diaz [in 2005], and came back to avenge that blemish on ‘ShoBox’ [in 2006]. It was the only blemish until he lost to Floyd Mayweather.

“In his case, and in the case of a lot of fighters, to have a loss on your record is not the end of the world. By losing, it helped to build him and school him that he’s not invincible and that hard work and dedication has to be in his vocabulary all the time if he’s going to get it to the next level.”

Hall and colleagues, including broadcaster Steve Farhood, understand that continued effort. They’ve made an estimated 30 visits to Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez and other small venues searching to enrich the sport.

“Thankfully, we’ve been able to prove that it is a proving ground,” Hall said. “We love this series. We work very hard to make it remain true to its definition and purpose.”