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  4. Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn leaves Sky, signs a DAZN deal worth over $100 million, and reaffirms vow to be the sport's global leader

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn leaves Sky, signs a DAZN deal worth over $100 million, and reaffirms vow to be the sport's global leader

Alan Dawson   

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn leaves Sky, signs a DAZN deal worth over $100 million, and reaffirms vow to be the sport's global leader
  • Matchroom Boxing is ending its 25-year association with Sky in the UK.
  • It instead begins a new, five-year deal with DAZN beginning July 31 worth upwards of $100 million.
  • Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn spoke to Insider ahead of the announcement of the deal.

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn sits in his office at Matchroom HQ, a mansion in a leafy village 30 miles east of London, and looks out to his 15-acre gardens during an interview with Insider.

He recalls a landmark series of events he held during a coronavirus-enforced lockdown last year called "Fight Camp," and announces to us that it is happening all over again.

Matchroom Boxing held "Fight Camp" on the lawns of an estate which boasts a helipad, a swimming pool, and, on a clear day, views of London's skyline.

There were fights, fireworks, and one of the upsets of the year when Alexander Povetkin knocked Dillian Whyte unconscious for several minutes with a thunderous uppercut.

On July 31, for three consecutive weekends, "Fight Camp" and all the pyrotechnics that come with it, returns to Hearn's lawns.

This time, though, the look of the events will be different. Fans, for one thing, will be present as the UK finalizes the last leg of its roadmap out of lockdown.

Perhaps most notably though, the branding will be different.

Gone will be hoardings bearing the logo of Sky Sports, and in their place will be that of DAZN. On Thursday, Matchroom announced a five-year deal with DAZN in the UK worth at least £100 million.

It has been a long time coming. Matchroom and DAZN have pre-existing broadcast partnerships elsewhere, notably in the United States - a market Hearn yearns to break.

But the furthering of that relationship in the UK means Matchroom finishes a 25-year relationship it had with Sky. And though the finances on offer at DAZN were substantial, Hearn told Insider that it's not all about the money.

"We went with the budget that allowed us to build the fight nights and make the fights that we want to for our schedule and our fighters," Hearn told Insider in an interview ahead of the deal's announcement.

"And that's so important because the growth of fighter purses is moving much more steeply than the growth of rights fees.

"To make big fights or fight nights we were too reliant on the pay-per-view model [at Sky]. I stand by the fact we delivered value for money on those nights, but we were still arm-wrestling and asking subscribers to put their hands in their pockets.

"So this deal, this model, gave us the opportunity to change that."

Notable features of Matchroom's new deal with DAZN in the UK, according to Hearn:

  • It will last five years, beginning July 31 with a three-event "Fight Camp" residency at Matchroom HQ.
  • It is worth at least £100 million ($141 million). The exact figure has not been revealed.
  • Matchroom will be contracted to produce a minimum of 16 UK shows annually, in addition to its global offering.
  • There is an increased budget for fight nights, and fighters.
  • Matchroom Media, the company's in-house production and content business, will control live production, documentaries, and shoulder programming across Matchroom Boxing's events.

This is the second significant deal Matchroom has struck with DAZN

Matchroom has already struck big deals with DAZN in the past, signing a $1 billion deal in the US in 2018.

In the subsequent years, Hearn grew his global business substantially and told Insider at the start of 2020 he planned to take over world boxing and stage fights with the sport's biggest names.

With world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua already on his roster, Hearn set his sights on pound-for-pound king Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, and pay-per-view sensation Manny Pacquiao.

A deal with Pacquiao has so far failed to materialize. The Filipino fighter has instead booked a Premier Boxing Champions showdown in July against Errol Spence Jr.

But Hearn has developed a strong relationship with Alvarez, and appears to be the Mexican fighter's promoter of choice right now.

Hearn confirmed to Insider that this month's UK-specific deal with DAZN is in the nine-figure ballpark, but he was unwilling to talk about specifics, citing a potential mistake three years ago.

"I'd love to tell you how much it was because I'm very proud of it," Hearn said.

"When we went into America and signed that billion dollar deal, I felt like we needed to make that noise. Whether that was a mistake or not, I don't know. But when you need to break a market, when nobody knows who you are, you need to make a splash.

"Here in UK boxing, we have an extremely dominant position within the marketplace, and we just need to go about our business. Yes, it's a huge deal financially that will mean our fighters are extremely well-rewarded for that fact, but it also enables us to make the big fights.

"We've been arm-wrestling with fans over pay-per-view for the last few years. Is pay-per-view worth £20 ($28), or is it not worth £20. And a lot of fights that you saw across that model will now sit as part of your DAZN subscription (currently £1.99 / $2.82 per month).

"In terms of value for money for fight fans, this is a complete no-brainer. For us, it was a decision that made sense."

The DAZN deal is for Matchroom's boxing events only. Its deal with the Professional Darts Corporation remains intact, with elite darts staying on Sky Sports.

Hearn said he could have retained his boxing schedule with Sky, as he says he has a good relationship with many executives there, and is comfortable. But the sheer size of the DAZN contract prised him from that comfort zone.

"Comfort is not something that sits well with me," he said. "And that's why we took this huge opportunity."

Matchroom and DAZN begin their UK boxing business July 31

"Fight Camp was just the most incredible project last year," Hearn said of a four-event run that helped restart boxing in the UK after a coronavirus-enforced hiatus.

"We've just been nominated for a couple of awards, which was great. And I've just been looking at the garden in front of me which was where the ring was, there were no fans, but this year there will be fans.

"The cards will be incredibly souped-up, and that will kick-off our UK offering for DAZN with those three weeks starting July 31.

"It is a good flagship event to get underway and then there'll be huge events for the rest of the year."

An Insider source with knowledge of the situation told us that Anthony Joshua has one fight remaining on his separate broadcast contract with Sky, so the heavyweight champion will fight his next opponent on Sky Box Office in the UK.

But other athletes like Whyte, who had otherwise been on Sky Box Office, will now fight on DAZN.

With more money available for fights and fighters, Insider asked whether we could see standalone, non-Matchroom matches compete on Matchroom shows under the DAZN banner, something that has happened before.

Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis competed in the World Boxing Super Series final at a Matchroom show in London two years ago, for example.

Hearn even bid for the Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos Jr. bout when it went to auction. He lost out, with American streaming platform Triller landing the rights to that match with an industry-shattering $6,180,000 bid.

"When we went to America there was always a fascination to sign as many fighters as you can," said Hearn.

"You get a huge pool of fighters. Some you realize don't deliver subscribers, and some do. On another hand you can have a purse bid scenario where you bring a fight to your platform on an individual basis. So there's going to be a lot of that.

"The key focus for us is our existing fighters, and also the ability to bring major fights to the platform."

As a market-disrupting streaming service, DAZN has been criticized by broadcasting and boxing executives in the US for putting its shows online, rather than showing them on TV as is traditional. Execs have accused Matchroom and Hearn of hiding fights by putting them on the streaming service

Insider asked Hearn about these criticisms, and if they have merit.

"I'd look at the numbers DAZN has now in the US, and even the numbers in the UK, across three really big fight nights," he said, citing Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders' separate bouts with 'Canelo' Alvarez, and Ryan Garcia against Luke Campbell.

"And in America we recently had Devin Haney against Jorge Linares and the numbers there are outperforming other outlets that are airing boxing. Historic outlets that have been doing so for years and years."

Hearn told us viewing habits have changed, and are continuing to change. "The way people are digesting content is changing, and moving much more aggressively towards streaming.

"In terms of content we've got to make the right partnerships with other outlets as well that perhaps a traditional broadcaster would be too scared to do, or too institutionalized to do. DAZN are really clever about what they do," Hearn said, pointing toward a documentary about Alvarez which aired on the BBC before his May fight with Saunders.

"That's a great example of how to be clever and creative with content to drive subscribers. These people [at DAZN] are at the absolute cutting edge of what they do."

What this deal means for boxing's best-known faces

Joshua has one more fight remaining on his deal with Sky. That bout will be shown on Sky Box Office, the company's pay-per-view platform.

But Matchroom has deals and relationships with boxing stars all around the world including Olympic gold medallist Katie Taylor, Japanese star Hiroto Kyoguchi, and of course, Alvarez - boxing's No.1 attraction.

"These are four fighters with different nationalities, and that's a real indication of where we want to go," Hearn said.

"A.J. is by far the biggest star in the UK, and arguably the biggest name in boxing globally. Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez is the biggest name in America, and arguably the biggest name globally. Katie Taylor is the biggest female fighter in the sport of boxing. And Kyoguchi is a huge star in Japan.

"We've got so many fighters from different nationalities and we are truly a global promotional business. It's very important for us to pick up those key names in important markets."

Having conclusively beaten Callum Smith and Saunders in recent super middleweight world championship unification bouts, there will come a time when Alvarez has exhausted Matchroom's stable of fighters at 168-pounds.

There is already a clamor for Alvarez to begin competing against the best Premier Boxing Champions athletes in and around that weight, with Jermall Charlo, David Benavidez, and Caleb Plant all capable of offering different tests for him.

But those PBC boxers have separate broadcasting relationships with Showtime Sports and Fox Sports in the US.

So could we see an agreement where all broadcasters are happy? To make a September 18 bout involving Alvarez and Plant, would Fox get the rights to air the fight in the US, with DAZN securing the global and UK rights?

"Of course, it's always important for DAZN to have the global rights for the shows," Hearn told us. "But there will be situations where a fight will take place, whether that's a purse bid or because it couldn't be made elsewhere with a broadcaster in one market. DAZN are the only global broadcaster for boxing in the world. That makes them unique.

"It looks like Canelo's next fight will be against Caleb Plant, and that will be for the undisputed super middleweight championship. And hopefully we can land that on DAZN.

"Since I've been promoting [Canelo], we've done three fights now on DAZN and they've all been huge successes that have delivered huge subscription numbers, and we'll be doing what we can to bring that undisputed fight on DAZN in September."

Hearn had a chip on his shoulder to be as successful as he could be

Matchroom's unique selling point when it comes to boxing includes an ability to host stadium fights around the world (the UK, Saudi Arabia, and the US), entering multiple territories internationally, and securing landmark broadcasting deals.

It is a leveling up of where Matchroom's boxing business had been prior to when Hearn took the helm, and he told us it's because he had a chip on his shoulder.

Matchroom had long been his father Barry's business, playing a key part in British boxing in the 1990s. As soon as he entered the family trade, Eddie always wanted to one-up his dad and be a success in his own right.

"The only way I can only be successful in my own right is to do outrageous things," he said.

"With what we've done in boxing over the last 10 years, I think I've achieved that. And I've done a lot more than he achieved. Breaking America was something he never did, and didn't put much focus on that.

"And, in the UK, the size of this DAZN deal, making our own decisions. It's a very difficult decision with us with DAZN. We've been with Sky for 25 years for boxing, and they've been a tremendous partner but an opportunity arose for our business, our fighters, and our fans that we could not turn down.

"It gives us an opportunity to completely re-build and grow the sport in this country to another level - the product, the noise, the production. Everything. And, with DAZN's growth globally of the boxing product it aligns so well with us when it comes to new markets. You've seen it with the US, Italy, Spain. We're about to announce a move into another new market in the next few days."

There are three major players in the sport of boxing - Premier Boxing Champions, Top Rank, and Matchroom, and Hearn said Matchroom will strategize ways it can become "the dominant global force in boxing."

"They're tremendous promotional companies," Hearn said of PBC and Top Rank, but said that "none operate globally apart from Matchroom."

"In America, I agree it's a three-horse race between Matchroom, ESPN [Top Rank], and PBC. And we've still got a lot of work to do. But, globally, you can't compare the three organizations.

"We are consistently delivering events in key markets. They're great companies, as well, but I feel we're head and shoulders above those two globally. And we continue to battle away with them in America."

Finishing, Hearn said: "DAZN is a streaming giant when it comes to sport but for us, in boxing, to have one platform where we can talk consistently to fans about how this is the destination where you can see our events and our fighters - that is so unique.

"Normally you'd sell individual rights to 30, 40 different territories to different broadcasters. Here, all our messaging can be so simple and it's a really unique offering for fight fans - I'm super excited."

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