PBC and Showtime face uphill battle with slate of big title fights on tap through end of 2020

The first card in the PBC comeback has already been impacted by COVID-19

PBC and Showtime kick off an aggressive and impressive schedule this Saturday as the promotion and network attempt to kick boxing back in gear after a lengthy break due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Nine cards were announced across eight dates -- with a Sept. 26 double-header pay-per-view -- featuring a total of 10 fights where a championship will be on the line.

Of course, a global pandemic complicates all things in life, including all efforts to hold sporting events. And the ambitious PBC schedule immediately took a hit when the match between unbeaten fighters Stephen Fulton Jr. and Angelo Leo for the vacant WBO junior featherweight title was upended when Fulton tested positive for COVID-19. Leo will now face Tramaine Williams with the title still on the line. While the replacement fight isn't quite as big as Fulton vs. Leo, Williams was already on the card, scheduled to face Ra'eese Aleem in the co-headliner in a fight that may have positioned him for a shot at the winner of the main event anyway. As far as bad breaks go, there certainly are worse.

These are the struggles of sports moving forward in the time of COVID-19, just ask the Miami Marlins.

Top Rank held a series of boxing events from within a self-created "bubble" in Las Vegas only to see main event after main event crumble due to the virus or injuries. PBC will be trying to avoid that same fate as they hold the string of events at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, though with a less aggressive schedule than Top Rank's two-a-week effort, and with no fans in attendance.

Where the PBC efforts really shine -- assuming fights reach the finish line -- is in event quality. Legitimate, high-level championship fights litter the schedule. For proof, look no further than the two-for-one pay-per-view offering featuring the Charlo twins.

Jermell and Jermall Charlo have established themselves as attractions for their legitimate high-level boxing skills, making the twins a far more appealing package than simply an "attraction." When they fight on the same card, it's a unique situation that can only be matched by a few pairs in the history of boxing. But on Sept. 26, they will share a pay-per-view, though not a card. Instead, fans tuning in will get two mini-cards, each headlined by one brother. Jermall Charlo will put his WBC middleweight title up against Sergiy Derevyanchenko in one main event, while Jermell Charlo and Jeison Rosaro battle to unify the WBA and IBF junior middleweight titles.

But there are other title fights on the two cards, including Mario Barrios vs. Ryan Karl for Barrios' WBA junior welterweight title and Brandon Figueroa vs. Damien Vasquez for Figueroa's WBA junior featherweight title. Boxing fans have asked for a return to the "Don King pay-per-view model," when the promoter used to stack cards with meaningful, exciting fights. And there's not been a boxing pay-per-view in recent memory that is providing the quality and depth that fans will get on that night.

There's also David Benavidez defending his WBC middleweight title against Roamer Alexis Angulo on Aug. 15 and Erickson Lubin vs. Terrell Gausha on Sept. 19 as intriguing Showtime main events in the lead-up to the Charlo twin PPV. But the other standout date on the schedule is the Oct. 24 PPV, main evented by Gervonta Davis vs. Leo Santa Cruz for Davis' WBA lightweight title and Santa Cruz's WBA junior lightweight title.

Of course, there are red flags with anything involving Davis. He faced domestic violence charges in February after video emerged of Davis physically assaulting an ex-girlfriend while attending a charity basketball game. A prodigious talent inside the ring, Davis could be on the path to being yet another boxer who can't get out of his own way by being as much a danger outside the ring as within. As a pure sporting contest, Davis vs. Santa Cruz, a man who has held world championships in four weight classes, is a legitimate fight for both men, even if Santa Cruz has faded a bit from his career-best form.

Davis vs. Santa Cruz could also represent the second phase in the PBC and Showtime plans, possibly moving outside Connecticut and to California.

"I don't know if I'm supposed to say this, but I'm not fighting in Connecticut," Davis told The Pug and Copp Boxing Show. "I don't even know where I'm fighting at. I'd rather fight here anyway, given that Leo is from California. I always wanted to compete in my opponent's backyard. You beat them up bad in front of their hometown, so it makes them feel small."

But before breaking the "Uncasville Bubble," PBC will try to ride out what will undoubtedly be a complicated set of dates, battling against the odds to bring championship-level boxing back to the Showtime airwaves.

And it starts this Saturday with an event already dealt a blow by the pandemic.