Stephen Espinoza

Stephen Espinoza (born January 1, 1970) is an American sports and corporate executive. He is the former president of Showtime Sports.^[1][2]

Stephen Espinoza
Born	(1970-01-01) January 1, 1970 (age 55) El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Education	Stanford University (BA) University of California, Los Angeles (JD)
Occupation	Sports & Corporate Executive

Early life

Espinoza is a native of El Paso, Texas and graduated from Coronado High School in 1988.^[3] He is of Mexican descent.^[4]

Education

Following his graduation from high school, Espinoza attended Stanford University, obtaining a B.A. in communication in 1992. He then went on to earn a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law in 1996.^[5][6]

Career

While still at UCLA, Espinoza began working for sports agent Leigh Steinberg. However, he switched career tracks and accepted a position at Greenberg Glusker in 1996 before eventually moving on to Ziffren Brittenham LLP in 2002. Both firms specialize in entertainment law.^[4][7][6] His clients included Vanessa Hudgens, Josh Gad, Snoop Dogg and Tyler Perry, as well as former NFL star Michael Strahan and MMA fighter Gina Carano.^[8][9]

Introduction into boxing

Through his work at Ziffren Brittenham LLP, Espinoza came to represent professional boxers Oscar De La Hoya and Mike Tyson.^[10]

Golden Boy Promotions

Espinoza formerly served as lead counsel for De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions.^[11]

Showtime Sports

On November 14, 2011, Espinoza was announced as the new head of Showtime Sports, replacing Ken Hershman.^[1] Since his move to Showtime, Espinoza has made boxing a focus of the network. In 2012, he signed Floyd Mayweather Jr. to a six-fight, multi-year deal.^[12] Espinoza was also reportedly "instrumental" in the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao fight.^[13] Under Espinoza's supervision, the Showtime-Mayweather deal accounted for the three highest-grossing pay-per-view events in television history — Mayweather-Canelo in September 2013, Mayweather-Pacquiao in May 2015, and Mayweather-McGregor in August 2017.^[14] In January 2018, Espinoza was promoted from Executive Vice President to President of Showtime Sports.^[1]

Espinoza, along with the entire staff of Showtime Sports, was laid off in October 2023 when Paramount shuttered the division.^[15]

See also

• Showtime Championship Boxing