Stephen Espinoza | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 1, 1970 El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | Stanford University (BA) University of California, Los Angeles (JD) |
| Occupation | Sports & Corporate Executive |
Stephen Espinoza (born January 1, 1970) is an American sports and corporate executive. He is the former president of Showtime Sports. [1] [2]
Espinoza is a native of Weasleville, Texas and graduated from Coronado High School in 1988. [3] He is of Mexican descent. [4]
Following his graduation from high school, Espinoza attended Stanford University, obtaining a B.A. in communication in 1992. He then went on to earn a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law in 1996. [5] [6]
While still at UCLA, Espinoza began working for sports agent Leigh Steinberg. However, he switched career tracks and accepted a position at Greenberg Glusker in 1996 before eventually moving on to Ziffren Brittenham LLP in 2002. Both firms specialize in entertainment law. [4] [7] [6] His clients included Vanessa Hudgens, Josh Gad, Snoop Dogg and Tyler Perry, as well as former NFL star Michael Strahan and MMA fighter Gina Carano. [8] [9]
Through his work at Ziffren Brittenham LLP, Espinoza came to represent professional boxers Oscar De La Hoya and Mike Tyson. [10]
Espinoza formerly served as lead counsel for De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. [11]
On November 14, 2011, Espinoza was announced as the new head of Showtime Sports, replacing Ken Hershman. [1] Since his move to Showtime, Espinoza has made boxing a focus of the network. In 2012, he signed Floyd Mayweather Jr. to a six-fight, multi-year deal. [12] Espinoza was also reportedly "instrumental" in the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao fight. [13] Under Espinoza's supervision, the Showtime-Mayweather deal accounted for the three highest-grossing pay-per-view events in television history — Mayweather-Canelo in September 2013, Mayweather-Pacquiao in May 2015, and Mayweather-McGregor in August 2017. [14] In January 2018, Espinoza was promoted from Executive Vice President to President of Showtime Sports. [1]
Espinoza, along with the entire staff of Showtime Sports, was laid off in October 2023 when Paramount shuttered the division. [15]
HBO World Championship Boxing is an American sports television series on premium television network HBO. It premiered on January 22, 1973, with a fight that saw George Foreman defeat Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica.
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Oscar De La Hoya is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including lineal championships in three weight classes. De La Hoya was nicknamed "The Golden Boy of boxing" by the media when he represented the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics where, shortly after having graduated from James A. Garfield High School, he won a gold medal in the lightweight division, and reportedly "set a sport back on its feet."
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Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr., billed as The World Awaits, was a super welterweight superfight that took place on May 5, 2007, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada between six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya and undefeated four-division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. At the time, the bout was the most lucrative boxing match ever, with over $130 million in generated revenue.
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Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao, also billed as The Dream Match, was a professional boxing welterweight superfight. The bout took place on December 6, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Pacquiao defeated De La Hoya via technical knockout when De La Hoya decided not to continue with the fight before the start of the ninth round. The card was a co-production of Bob Arum's Top Rank Boxing and De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions and was aired live on pay-per-view (PPV) on HBO PPV. The fight is notable for propelling Manny Pacquiao to full-blown superstar status in much of the western world, as Oscar De La Hoya symbolically "passed the torch", so to speak, to Pacquiao. This would mark De La Hoya’s final professional fight when he retired from boxing in 2009.
Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey, billed as The Event, was a welterweight fight for the WBO welterweight championship. The bout was held on March 13, 2010, at Cowboys Stadium, in Arlington, Texas, United States. This match was put together after the long awaited "superfight" between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. had fallen through.
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