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Eddie Hearn and DAZN ‘agree’ nine figure partnership to end Sky Sports deal

It is yet to be confirmed but the promoter has revealed that Matchroom Media will run the production of all its events once the new deal gets underway…

Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing have struck up a record-breaking partnership that will end the promotion's ties with Sky Sports, according to reports.
Hearn and Matchroom have been with Sky Sports exclusively since 2012. Their deal was extended by six years in 2015, but it is due to expire at the end of June.

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the future of the promotion, as they have grown closer to DAZN in recent years with events taking place in America, Italy and Spain.

The Athletic's Mike Coppinger has reported that Hearn and DAZN have agreed to an exclusive deal that is worth a "guaranteed" nine figures.

This new deal will begin on July 1 and it is said that the partnership includes all of Matchroom's fighters except Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. If Hearn wants the duo to appear on DAZN in the UK, a separate deal will have to be negotiated.

As of now, Matchroom's last event on Sky Sports will be a card in Manchester on May 15 headlined by a unification bout between Terri Harper and Hyun Mi Choi. Joshua Buatsi also returns on the undercard.

Hearn recently called DAZN the "future of boxing" and he has his eyes set on having more control in terms of production. He has told IFL TV that Matchroom Media will run all of the production once the new deal starts:

"Matchroom Media will be running the production for our live events in boxing from now.
"That will be down to the lighting, the ring walks, the look and the feel, the talent, the broadcast team, everything.
"We create a narrative for fighters and fights, we sell the story, cradle to grave. From the inception to the delivery it has to be solid, it has to follow a flow and I need to be able to create that.
"WWE, exactly the same thing. WWE productions create their production, their talent their look and feel - that's important to me.
"Any deal now will see us create our own talent/presentation team, commentary team, broadcast team, social media team, shoulder content/documentary team.
"Any deal will come with a huge arsenal of production, content, shoulder programming, digital content and we will be looking to build an unstoppable team of talent."

Meanwhile, Hearn also told IFL TV that Joshua vs Tyson Fury is 'as done as it can be'.

"We have a date. We have a city. We have a country. Dotting the Is and crossing the Ts to make sure everything's papered, everyone understands what their obligations are. That's what's happening at the moment."

Hearn and Matchroom take the leap…

This is a seismic move for Hearn and Matchroom that will change the landscape of boxing moving forward.

Given the growing influence of DAZN as it branches out worldwide, it is hard to argue against this being a wise call from Hearn.

He has admitted himself that he takes a lot of inspiration from the UFC and he wants to assert himself as boxing's equivalent to Dana White

With DAZN, Hearn will be able to do this and you would be foolish to write him off from taking the sport and his fighters to the next level.

As we exit the Covid era, the next few years in boxing will be full of thrills. This mega partnership will be right at the forefront, just as Hearn would like it…

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