Hall of Fame boxer and former welterweight champion Sugar Ray Leonard will be part of a primetime boxing production on CBS this weekend. Leonard will be part of the Showtime on CBS crew along with blow-by-blow voice Mauro Ranallo, analyst Al Bernstein, host Brian Custer and reporter Jim Gray.
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The card will include a super welterweight bout between Jorge Cota and Erickson Lubin.
Leonard will take the place of usual Showtime analyst Paul Malignaggi as he’ll be taking part in a fight in London that same day.
Leonard has experience as an analyst having called fights on HBO, CBS and NBC/NBCSN. His first foray into TV occurred in the early 1980’s when Leonard temporarily retired due to a detached retina and worked with Tim Ryan and Gil Glancy.
And as previously mentioned, Leonard worked on World Championship Boxing telecasts on HBO. Most recently, he worked Premier Boxing Champions presentations on NBC/NBCSN.
It marks a return to CBS for Leonard. He made his professional boxing debut on CBS in 1977 after winning a boxing gold medal at the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
The fight will air live on CBS at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. And the welterweight unification bout marks the first time CBS wil air a title right in nearly two decades and only the second primetime boxing presentation in 40 years.
About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.