Eleven months ago, Erislandy Lara lost his 154-pound junior middleweight belt in one of the best fights of the year. Now, he’ll get a chance to get himself back into the title picture on Saturday vs. Brian Castano, a fight you can live stream for free on Showtime.
Lara is 35 years old, and he’s facing his third undefeated opponent in a row. Castano, meanwhile, has never faced an opponent as skillful as Lara. But Lara’s best days might be behind him, and it’s unclear if he’s still good enough to defeat an emerging talent like Castano and take his secondary junior middleweight title.
“Brian Castano is coming into this fight with an undefeated record, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” Lara said. “I’m taking this very seriously. Stylistically, I feel I’m the superior fighter, but he’s a very strong champion. I will be prepared to take back a title in this great division, then look to the biggest fights that are out there.”
Here’s everything you need to know to watch the Lara vs. Castano live stream for free.
Erislandy Lara vs. Brian Castano
- When: Saturday, March 2, at 9pm ET
- Where: Barclays Center in New York City
- Streaming: Showtime (free with various streaming service trials)
Lara vs. Castano live stream: How to watch Showtime boxing for free
All of the major live TV streaming services offer Showtime as a premium channel, including PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, and DirecTV Now. You’ll get at least a one-week trial of Showtime with each service, meaning you can watch the Lara vs. Castano bout for free if you’ve never had a Showtime subscription before. We’ve highlighted some of the best live streaming options below.
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Aside from the Lara vs. Castano fight, Showtime will showcase powerful heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz vs. Christian Hammer in the co-feature. Originally, the Showtime telecast was also supposed to include Ricardo Nunez vs. Ednar Cherry, but Cherry had to pull out of the fight with a medical issue. Instead, Showtime will now feature Bryan De Gracia vs. Eduardo Ramirez in the broadcast’s opening slot.
This week, Showtime announced it’ll also live stream three undercard fights on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and the Showtime Boxing Facebook page. Beginning at 6:30pm ET, Showtime will stream Edwin Rodriguez vs. Mitch Williams, Antonio Russell vs. Jose Maria Cardenas, and Leduan Barthelemy vs. Miguel Angel Aispuro.
1) Sling TV
- Cost: $10 per month for Showtime (after a 7-day free trial)| $25-$40 per month for Sling TV (after a 7-day free trial)
- Sling TV devices: Amazon Fire TVs, Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku,Xbox One, Google Chromecast, and iOS and Android devices
What separates Sling TV from many other services is that you can choose a la carte channel packages. That means you have the choice for how much you want to pay (between $25 and $40) for the channels you receive. T
o get Showtime, though, you’ll need to pay an additional $10 monthly fee after a seven-day free trial. Here’s a complete guide to Sling TV channels and our Sling TV review.
2) Hulu and Hulu with Live TV
- Cost: $10.99 per month for Showtime (after 7-day free trial) | $5.99-$11.99 for Hulu and $44.95 per month for Hulu with Live TV (after a 7-day free trial)
- Hulu devices: Roku, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, and iOS and Android devices
Hulu allows you to watch TV and movies on-demand, and it also allows you to stream live TV. This is a great way for people to catch up on all the shows they missed when they were originally broadcast on network TV. Here’s the complete list of Hulu Live TV channels.
3) FuboTV
- Cost: $10.99 per month for Showtime | $44.99 for your first month and $54.99 per month thereafter for FuboTV (after a 7-day free trial)
- Devices: Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV, iOS and Android devices
If you’re an international sports fanatic, FuboTV might be the best option for you. The great thing about FuboTV is that it continues to improve itself with new sports coverage, including global soccer, and it’s got some of the best local TV coverage of any other streaming service. Thanks to Showtime on the service, it’s also a good place to watch movies as well. Here’s the complete FuboTV channels list.
4) Amazon Prime Video
- Cost: $10.99 per month (after a 7-day free trial) for Showtime | $119.99 per year for Prime
- Devices: Amazon Fire Stick, Fire TV, Fire tablets, and Fire phone; Roku, Google TV, TiVo, Nvidia Shield, PlayStation 3 and 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Wii
Amazon is the place for you if you just want a one-stop shop for all your streaming needs. Plus, it allows you to add Showtime from one centralized media center. This is about as easy as it gets to live stream Showtime.
5) Showtime app
- Cost: $10.99 per month (after a 30-day free trial)
- Devices: Amazon Fire TVs, Amazon Fire Stick, Roku, Xbox One, Google Chromecast, and iOS and Android devices
Using the app can be a good deal because, unlike most of the streaming services, Showtime oftentimes gives you an extended free trial of 30 days instead of seven. This, however, is not one of those times. For now, you get a free seven-day trial with the app, and after the free trial is complete, it costs $10.99 per month (you can cancel any time). If you want to stream the fight directly through Showtime, this is the way to do it.
Lara vs. Castano: Why it matters
The last time we saw Lara in the ring, he was engaged in the Boxing Writers Association of America’s Fight of the Year vs. Jarrett Hurd. Lara’s reputation at the time was that he was a boring yet highly effective fighter. His battle vs. Hurd, though, was exciting. Take a look at the highlights and see how Lara lost by a slim split decision.
Nearly a year later, Lara (25-3-2, 14 knockouts), a Cuban defector, said he still believes he beat Hurd.
“The fight against Hurd was a great fight for the fans, but I felt I won seven or eight rounds that night,” he said. “To be on the wrong end of another close decision left a bad taste in my mouth. That fight being recognized as ‘Fight of the Year’ shows my versatility as a fighter. I was on the ballot before with Alfredo Angulo [in 2013], so it was good to get recognized for being a warrior, not only a craftsman.”
He might have to be a bit of both vs. Castano (15-0, 11 KOs), a 29-year-old from Argentina.
“I’ve been boxing since I was a small child and now this is my opportunity to prove myself on the biggest stage,” Castano said. “This fight is the moment I’ve been waiting for and the kind of tough challenge that I love. I want to make a statement to the American audience against one of the best fighters in the world.”
So far, Castano’s résumé is fairly thin. He barely squeaked by his best opponent, Michel Soro in 2017, and four fights ago, Castano was battling an opponent with an 18-16-4 record. In other words, Castano has never faced anybody as remotely as good as Lara, who is still one of the top junior middleweights in the world and who is a -170 betting favorite (meaning you’d have to bet $170 on Lara to win $100).
“On paper we know that Lara is a slick fighter that can be difficult to catch, while I’m more like a demolisher that goes after you all fight,” Castano said. “Lara moves around the ring very wisely and has great timing on the counterpunch. In the ring, you never know how it can play out though. I probably haven’t faced someone like him before, so I have to cut off the ring in an even smarter manner … This is the opportunity that I’ve dreamed of ever since I was a little kid and I have to be ready to rise to the occasion.”
Lara vs. Castano live stream schedule
- Erislandy Lara vs. Brian Castano
- Luis Ortiz vs. Christian Hammer
- Bryan De Gracia vs. Eduardo Ramirez
- Edwin Rodriguez vs. Mitch Williams*
- Antonio Russell vs. Jose Maria Cardenas*
- Leduan Barthelemy vs. Miguel Angel Aispuro.*
*Available only on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and the Showtime Boxing Facebook page.
New to cord-cutting? Here are our picks for the best movie streaming sites of 2019 and free live TV apps and channels. If you’re looking for a specific channel, here’s how to watch HBO, Showtime, Starz, Sundance TV, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, Willow, AMC, FX, Fox News, Freeform, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, FS1, TBS, TNT, Tennis Channel, Golf Channel, Syfy, HGTV, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, Bravo, Lifetime, Discovery, PBS, the CW, BBC, CSPAN, NBA TV, MTV, Comedy Central, Food Network, TLC, HLN, A&E, Animal Planet, National Geographic, the Weather Channel, the History Channel, and NFL RedZone without cable, as well as free movies on YouTube. If you’re on the move, here’s how to watch Fox Sports Go and live stream NBC Sports.
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