Ward to Face Paul Smith at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California Live
on BETSaturday June 20th at 10:00 P.M. ET/7:00 P.M. PT
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
BET Networks is stepping into the ring with Roc Nation Sports to air throne
boxing live on the network with its first event featuring WBA Super
Middleweight World Champion Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KO's) facing former
World Title Challenger Paul Smith (35-5, 20 KO's) of England in a 12
round bout on Saturday, June 20th at 10:00 P.M. ET/7:00 P.M. PT live
from Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. The partnership between BET
Networks and Roc Nation Sports is the first of its kind for the network
and includes airing up to nine live, two-hour telecasts of Roc Nation
Sportsthrone boxing events over the next 18 months.
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(Andre Ward set to face Paul Smith on BET Networks/Photo Credit: Khristopher "Squint" Sandifer)
Ward vs. Smith, a 12 round bout presented by Roc Nation Sports, takes
place Saturday, June 20 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, will be
televised live on BET and streamed globally on TIDAL.com at 10:00 PM
ET/7:00 PM PT and is presented in association with Matchroom Sport. The
fight is sponsored by The Waterfront Hotel, Venue Kings and Shoe Palace.
In addition to the great action inside the ring, the event will feature
several notable Roc Nation touches that will further serve spectators
with an enhanced fan experience, including Nipsey Hussle taking to the
ring for a special performance prior to the main event. The event will
be hosted by notable emcee Sway Calloway and will also feature hit
master DJ Franzen who will serve alongside Sway throughout the night.
Tickets priced at $250, $125, $90, $60 and $30, not including applicable
service charges and taxes, are on sale now and available at all
Ticketmaster locations, online at Ticketmaster.com and charge by phone
at (800) 745-3000. Doors open at 3:00 PM, the first fight begins at 3:10
PM and the BET telecast and TIDAL.com stream begins at 10:00PM ET/7:00
PM PT.
For more information about Roc Nation throne boxing please visit BET.com
and RocNation.com.
Also, join the conversation about the event on Twitter by using
hashtag: #BET #ThroneBoxing #WardvsSmith.
ABOUT BET NETWORKS:
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is the
nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and
public affairs television programming for the African-American audience.
The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can
be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom
and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer
brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com,
a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture,
and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to
54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel
and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment
tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings
for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event
Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with
festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET Mobile, which provides
ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET
International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the
extension of BET network programming for global distribution.
ABOUT ROC NATION SPORTS:
Roc Nation Sports, a sub-division of Roc Nation, launched in spring
2013. Founder Shawn "JAY Z" Carter's love of sports lead to the natural
formation of Roc Nations Sports, helping athletes in the same way Roc
Nation has been helping artists in the music industry for years. Roc
Nation Sports focuses on elevating athletes' career on a global scale
both on and off the field. Roc Nation Sports conceptualizes and executes
marketing and endorsement deals, community outreach, charitable tie-ins,
media relations and brand strategy. Roc Nation Sports launched its
boxing division, a full service promotional company which represents
world champions Miguel Cotto and Andre Ward, in August 2014. Roc Nation
Sports' roster includes premiere athletes such as Robinson Cano, Skylar
Diggins, Kevin Durant, Geno Smith, Victor Cruz, CC Sabathia, James
Young, Dez Bryant, Ndamukong Suh, Rusney Castillo, Yoenis Cespedes,
Jaelen Strong, Todd Gurley, Wilson Chandler, Erick Aybar and Frances
Tiafoe. For more information please visit www.rocnation.com.
Follow Roc Nation on Twitter and Instagram @rocnation and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RocNation.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150611006394/en/
BET NETWORKS:
LeToya Glenn
Bacon, 212-205-3158
letoya.glenn@bet.net
Source: BET Networks
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