Martinez vs. Vargas on ESPN Boxing: Friday Night Fights Special Edition on Thursday

Ring Magazine Super Middleweight Champion Andre Ward Special Guest Analyst
HBO All-Access Series 24/7 Chavez Jr. /Martinez Airs Immediately before Show

On Thursday September 13, undefeated Welterweight contender “The New Generation” Jessie Vargas (19-0, 9 KOs) will meet Aron “The Killer” Martinez (18-1-1, 4 KOs) in the 10-round main event in an ESPN Boxing: Friday Night Fights Special Edition presented by Corona Extra. Thursday’s card from Las Vegas will air at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2 HD, ESPN Deportes, and will be available online through WatchESPN.com, and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app. The card is presented by Top Rank Promotions.

Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside for ESPN2 HD at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino describing the action, while Ring Magazine Super Middleweight Champion Andre Ward will join studio host Bernardo Osuna on site as a special guest analyst. Alex Pombo and Delvin Rodriguez will call the fights for ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates (Friday Night Fights) with Leopoldo Gonzalez and Pablo Viruega in the studio.

As part of ESPN and HBO Sports’ new multi-year boxing programming and marketing agreement, ESPN and ESPN Deportes will televise the HBO all-access series 24/7 leading up to HBO Pay-Per-View fights. On Saturday, Sept. 15, at 9 p.m., HBO Pay-Per-View will produce and distribute the world middleweight championship fight between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sergio Martinez from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Starting this Thursday, Sept. 13, at 9 p.m., ESPN2 will air the two-part 24/7 Chavez Jr. /Martinez back-to-back, immediately before ESPN Boxing: Friday Night Fights Special Edition. ESPN Deportes will start televising the series starting with the next HBO Pay-Per View event.

In addition, ESPN Deportes’ Golpe a Golpe will preview the Chavez Jr. vs. Martinez fight Thursday at 9 p.m., and will carry Friday’s weigh-in live at 6 p.m. with hosts Jorge Eduardo Sanchez, Juan Manuel Marquez and Osuna . Friday’s weigh-in will also be available live on ESPN3 via WatchESPN.com. On Sunday at 2 a.m. after the Chavez Jr. vs. Martinez fight, ESPN Deportes’ Golpe a Golpe will air a live post fight show including fighter interviews, highlights and analysis. Osuna (@osunaespn) will be tweeting throughout the week with behind- the-scenes photos and videos. You can follow the conversation on Twitter by using #ChavezMartinez.