The long-awaited announcement from Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing ended up being what is being described as boxing’s first billion dollar deal.
The British company, who has started expanding into the United States last year, announced it has partnered with Perform Group to create 16 boxing shows in the United States per year for eight years, all of which will be streamed on Perform’s DAZN on-demand streaming service.
At a special media event in New York City, Hearn talked about the deal and the historical significance of the deal, which is considered to be the richest in the history of the sport.
“This is a historic moment for Matchroom and the sport of boxing. Since our expansion to the U.S., we have been looking for a partner that shares our vision and that can give us the volume of dates and rights fees required to build the strongest stable in world boxing and take it to a new level,” Hearn said.
Hearn confirmed that there will be 16 shows in the United States and 16 more in the United Kingdom which will stream on DAZN for fans in the United States. DAZN will be available for fans in the United States later this year. Perform Group has launched DAZN in countries such as Germany, Japan and Canada. Details, such as what platforms will DAZN be available on and how much it will cost monthly, will be made available later this year.
Matchroom Boxing USA was formed last year as an effort to expand into the United States. The company signed former middleweight world champion Daniel Jacobs and has since then fought twice on HBO with the latest one being a WBA middleweight title eliminator against Maciej Sulecki in which Jacobs won by unanimous decision.
