Gervonta Davis' homecoming fight resulted in Showtime's second-highest viewership for a live boxing telecast this year.
The July 27 Showtime Championship Boxing card from the Royal Farms Arena averaged 553,000 viewers (188,000 in the 18-49 demo) and drew a 0.33 rating. The card featured Davis defending his WBA "Super" super featherweight title against mandatory challenger Ricardo Nunez.
The viewership is a big jump from the June 29 card headlined by Jermall Charlo vs. Brandon Adams for the WBC middleweight title. That title bout only averaged 379,000 viewers. Gervonta Davis vs. Ricardo Nunez is also the second most watched live Showtime boxing telecast of 2019 in terms of average viewership after Deontay Wilder vs. Dominic Breazeale from May 18.
Below is the average viewership breakdown of every live “Showtime: Championship Boxing” and “Showtime Boxing: Special Edition” for 2019:
- Gervonta Davis vs. Hugo Ruiz (February 9): 429,000
- Erislandy Lara vs. Brian Castano (March 2): 487,000
- Claressa Shields vs. Christina Hammer (April 13): 339,000
- Robert Easter Jr. vs. Rances Barthelemy (April 27): 312,000
- Deontay Wilder vs. Dominic Breazeale (May 18): 791,000
- Jermall Charlo vs. Brandon Adams (June 29): 379,000
- Gervonta Davis vs. Ricardo Nunez (July 27): 553,000
In what was a quick yet entertaining fight, Davis stopped Nunez in the second round to retain the title. It was Davis' first pro bout in front of his hometown fans of Baltimore and it's the first time a world champion from Baltimore defended his title there in nearly 80 years.
Also on the card was Yuriorkis Gamboa knocking out Rocky Martinez in the second round. The opening bout saw Ladarius Miller pick up a controversial split decision victory over former world champion Jezreel Corrales.
There are no live Showtime Championship Boxing cards currently scheduled but there is a ShoBox: The New Generation card scheduled for August 23.
