In what is the most significant women’s boxing match in recent memory, if not ever, Claressa Shields vs. Christina Hammer showcases two undefeated women champions who are exciting enough to headline any card on any network. You can live stream the card for free on Saturday night via Showtime, and if you’re a boxing fan, it’ll almost certainly be worth your time.
“Let’s get one thing straight here. This isn’t just an important women’s fight. This isn’t just a high-quality women’s boxing match. This is a high-quality boxing match,” Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza said. “This is an important fight. So certainly we have two very skilled women, we’re not going to ignore that fact. But this is one of the best fights that can be made in this sport. Two pound-for-pound boxers, the best fighting the best. If you are not interested in this fight, then candidly, you are not a boxing fan. This is as good as this sport gets.”
Here’s everything you need to know to watch the Shields vs. Hammer live stream for free.
Claressa Shields vs. Christina Hammer
- When: Saturday, April 13, at 9pm ET
- Where: Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ
- Streaming: Showtime (free with various streaming service trials)
Claressa Shields vs. Christina Hammer live stream: How to watch Showtime boxing for free
If you have a major live TV streaming service, including PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, and DirecTV Now, you have the ability to pay a little extra for Showtime as a premium channel. Each service offers a one-week free trial—which means if you’ve never had a Showtime subscription before, you can watch Shields vs. Hammer for free. We’ve highlighted some of the best live streaming options below.
Aside from the Shields vs. Hammer fight, Showtime will showcase two heavyweight clashes. In the co-feature, undefeated American prospect Jermaine Franklin will battle once-beaten Rydell Booker, who has resurrected his career after spending 12 years in prison on a drug charge. In the show’s opener, undefeated Swedish prospect Otto Wallin will take on Nick Kisner.
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
To get Showtime on Sling TV, it’ll cost you an additional $10 monthly fee after a seven-day free trial. But what really separates Sling TV from its competition is that you can select to receive a la carte channel packages. That means you can pay either $25 or $40 depending on what channels you want. But if you signup in time for the Shields vs. Hammer fight, you’ll actually get 40% off your first three months, bringing your monthly cost down to just $15 or $25. 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
With Hulu, you can watch TV shows and movies on demand while also having the ability to stream live TV. It’s really a great chance for viewers to watch all the shows they might have 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
FuboTV might be the best option for you if you’re a huge international sports fanatic. One of the best parts about FuboTV is that the service continues to improve itself with new sports coverage, including soccer from all around the world, and it showcases some of the best local TV coverage of any streaming service. With Showtime on FuboTV, it’s also a great place to watch movies. 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
If you want a one-stop shop for all your streaming needs, Amazon is exactly what you need. Plus, you can add Showtime for $10.99 per month 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 sometimes 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. After that, it costs $10.99 per month (you can cancel any time). If you want to stream Shields vs. Hammer directly through Showtime, this is the way to do it.
Claressa Shields vs. Christina Hammer: Why it matters
In just her fourth professional fight, Shields (8-0, 2 knockouts), a two-time Olympic gold medalist, captured a 168-pound super middleweight title. Two fights after that, she moved down eight pounds and won the unified middleweight title by out-fighting Hanna Gabriels in a bout that saw Shields get knocked off her feet for the first time.
Now, she has her biggest professional test yet in Hammer (24-0, 11 KOs), who has held her version of the middleweight title since 2011. These two will battle for all four 160-pound belts to see who will be the undisputed champ.
“This is going to be the biggest women’s fight in history. We’re both champions. She has Olympic gold medals and other accolades, so with all of that combined, it’s going to be a game changer for our sport,” the German-born Hammer said. “I’m a longtime champion and I know what to do in the ring. I know I have the skills to beat her. I have great footwork and my goal is to beat her badly.”
Shields—who, at 5-foot-8, is three inches shorter than Hammer—obviously doesn’t agree with that prediction.
“Christina doesn’t know what’s coming for her. I’m going to break that Hammer in half,” Shields said. “When we’re in there, it’s about who punches harder. This is a real fight. Just because she has height, doesn’t mean she’s going to dictate what happens. She’s going to have to do a lot to keep me off of her.”
Like Christy Martin and Laila Ali in the decades before her, Shields has the chance to be the face of women’s boxing around the world. She’s seen as a worthy champion and an exciting fighter who can rule her weight classes for the next five to 10 years. A win against Hammer would be the start in nailing down some of those lofty goals. The oddsmakers like her as well. Shields is a -300 betting favorite, meaning you’d have to wager $300 to win $100. Hammer, meanwhile, is a +230 underdog, which means you’d win $230 for betting $100.
Claressa Shields vs. Christina Hammer live stream schedule
- Claressa Shields vs. Christina Hammer
- Jermaine Franklin vs. Rydell Booker
- Otto Wallin vs. Nick Kisner
For a year-round sports fix, sign up here to receive our weekly boxing newsletter. You’ll hear about all the biggest fights and best knockouts from the Daily Dot’s streaming sports guru Josh Katzowitz.
The Daily Dot may receive a payment in connection with purchases of products or services featured in this article. Click here to learn more.
