Showtime's lone world title fight right before the December 1 pay-per-view at the Staples Center didn't produce exceptionally high viewership numbers.
According to Showbuzz Daily, the WBC light heavyweight title fight between Adonis Stevenson and Oleksandr Gvozdyk averaged 232,000 viewers. The fight also drew a 0.05 rating in 18-49 demo, which is 146th on cable for the night. The title fight, which took place in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, served as the lead-in to the Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury pay-per-view card.
The broadcast had to compete against one of the biggest college football weekends of the year, running at the same time as the Big Ten Championship game Ohio State and Northwestern, which averaged nearly nine million viewers. The fight was also streamed live on Showtime Sports' official YouTube page, which may have slightly impacted the viewership.
Gvozdyk ended Stevenson's long reign as the WBC light heavyweight champion when he knocked him out in the 11th round of their fight. Stevenson was badly hurt and suffered a possible brain hemorrhage. As a result, Stevenson was placed in a medically-induced coma and his condition has improved from critical to stable.
The fight is Showtime's last live boxing card of 2018. The next boxing broadcast Showtime will have will take place on December 8 when it airs a replay of the Wilder vs. Fury fight.
