Boxing fans to get more blockbuster fights from new global TV deal
Dazn’s exclusive deal with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions will help to unlock more of the blockbuster fights that fans have been clamouring for, such as Tyson Fury’s long-awaited clash with Anthony Joshua, says the channel’s boxing chief.
The multi-year agreement sees Queensberry join UK rival Matchroom in committing to the London-headquartered sport streaming platform, removing the potential barrier to big fights of promoters being tied to different broadcasters.
An all-British heavyweight showdown between Fury and Joshua is the biggest fight yet to be made but there is optimism it will take place in 2025, and Dazn’s boxing CEO Pete Oliver says the deal with Fury’s promoter can only help.
“I think we might see that fight next year but we’ll have to wait and see. These things still require the fighters to agree and the economics to be right but certainly we’ve removed one barrier from making those kind of fights,” Oliver told City PM.
“For the first time, you’ve got Queensberry and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom on the same platform, which means we’re going to be able to create what’s never really existed: a single destination for all of the best UK fights. We also think it will mean that they’ll be able to create better fights.
“There’s no longer a conflict between broadcasters, which, historically, was one of the big issues, because even if the promoters wanted to make the fight, sometimes they couldn’t agree the plan with the broadcasters.”
Dazn is available in 200 countries and says its outlay on the deal with Queensberry, whose other fighters include Daniel Dubois, Zhilei Zhang and Hamzah Sheeraz, is part of a strategy borrowed from mixed martial arts and American wrestling.
“Historically, promoters would have had to get local broadcast deals in different countries, but now we’re able to make that one product available everywhere in the world, and we do it in multiple languages as well as different payment types,” Oliver added.
“There’s huge potential in boxing that hasn’t been realised. We think about MMA; the UFC have brought it all together. Think about wrestling: WWE have brought it all together. We’re aiming to do the same for boxing – create all of the best fights on one platform and become that globally recognised brand.”
Dazn has been linked with a minority investment from another disruptive force in boxing, Saudi Arabia, via its Public Investment Fund, but Oliver says the Queensberry agreement is “in no way connected” to any potential equity deal.
“It’s not coming from any investment externally. It’s a deal we’ve done with our own funding, just to be really clear on that,” he said.
“We’re very confident it’s a good deal for us and Queensberry, because we’ve been growing a volume of boxing subscribers very substantially over the last two years and we know that more of the top fights will drive more subscribers.
“We’ve been in this business for five or six years. We think we’re pretty good at valuing the different promoters and the different fights, and we’re very confident it’ll pay back.”