Not since Jack Dempsey's Broadway Restaurant closed in 1974 has a heavyweight champion graced The Great White Way -- until this week. EPIX will present the closed captioned simulcast of the Vitali Klitschko vs. Odlanier Solis WBC heavyweight championship on a jumbotron screen in Times Square (Broadway at 44th St.), This Saturday! March 19, beginning at 6 p.m. ET.
EPIX, the multiplatform premium entertainment service, will exclusively televise Klitschko vs. Solis live in the U.S., beginning at 5 p.m. ET, with select undercard bouts, followed by the main event World Heavyweight Championship at 6 p.m. ET. EpixHD.com will stream the fights live, beginning at 5 p.m. ET, as part of a free two-week trial offer.
"EPIX believes The Heavyweight Championship of the World is very big and very important to the sport of boxing and its fans," said Mark Greenberg, president and CEO of EPIX. "That is why we are broadcasting it live, streaming it live, and for free, and putting it on the big screen in Times Square."
Klitschko (41-2, 38 KOs), of Ukraine, a three-time heavyweight champion, will be making his sixth title defense of his current reign against 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist Solis (17-0, 12 KOs), who is the number one contender and mandatory challenger. The fight will take place in Colgne, Germany.