ANNOUNCEMENTS GALORE
Matchroom have some big news, while season two of the WBSS takes shape
‘JOSHUA IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE DEAL. HE IS A FREE AGENT IN TERMS OF HIS US BROADCASTER’
On Thursday May 12, at one of Midtown Manhattan’s most desirable venues, Eddie Hearn con rmed a £1billion agreement with streaming platform DAZN to stage a total of 128 shows on US soil over the next eight years. Hours before the announcement, Declan Taylor sat down with Hearn at Matchroom’s new Wall Street of ce to see what all the fuss is about
ALOT of people have never even heard of DAZN, what was the genesis of this deal? We have been working with Perform for a long time and when they launched DAZN, we were working with them in Germany, Canada and Japan. They have been taking a lot of our content, not just boxing. Then, about six months ago, we had a meeting and they told us about their launch in America. That was straight away appealing but when they said 16 shows and one billion dollars split across eight years, we couldn’t turn it down.
Was it an easy deal to close?
Well it has been in the pipeline for six months. At first you’re never sure it will close. You have these conversations and they just go and go and go without conclusion. But these guys are super smart and we are in the position where it’s on, the money is in the bank and we’ve got 16 shows a year. It’s the biggest deal in boxing history.
Is it risky trying to crack America on a totally new platform?
The problem is that the only way to build an unrivalled stable is to have a huge war chest and a huge number of dates but we couldn’t get that with other platforms. I spoke to HBO and did a deal with them for Danny Jacobs. There was an opportunity to do three, four shows a year but I can’t build the stable that I need to build based on that. So when DAZN told us the numbers and how aggressively they wanted to back the platform, it’s frightening. With us in charge of that war chest, we can’t fail.
What are the nuts and bolts of the deal?
It is $1billion split across eight-years. For that we will put on 16 shows a year in America which will be shown on DAZN. They will also stream all of our existing Saturday night fight nights that are on Sky back in the UK. It’s a blank canvas too. We won’t have people telling us what to do or how loud to play the music. It’s a dream come true for me because, speaking just as fans, we can create the platform that other fans want.
Where does Anthony Joshua fit into the deal?
Simply, he’s not included in the deal. His deal with Showtime is now finished
so he is a free agent in terms of his US broadcaster. We couldn’t guarantee Joshua to DAZN because we don’t know what will happen with his fights. But we will give DAZN the opportunity to bid for Anthony Joshua and they have a lot of money.
DAZN is a monthly subscription service, how will that fit in the premium cable and pay-per-view system which currently dominates American boxing?
This will end up eradicating the payper-view model here in America. It’s so expensive, it’s ridiculous - $99 for a pay-per-view. Our plan is for 16 shows a year which includes 12 traditional championship fight nights and four absolute jambusters. That means monster, pay-per-view style shows but for no extra fee.
How do Sky feel about the deal?
They are very pleased that they are getting the content from America because the shows are going to be huge. If you’re a boxing fan who pays for Sky, you are now getting 16 more fight nights a year for no extra cost.
Do you feel like streaming really is the future for boxing broadcasting?
I really do. It’s a new platform and a new concept but look at Netflix’s numbers – 120 million subscribers. It might take two or three years but what you’ll find over time is that people will come off the traditional cable subscription and take individual packages. They might take Netflix, DAZN or ESPN+. I’m not sure it’s there yet – but it’s the future, without a shadow of a doubt. Kids aren’t watching TV anymore. Everything is via a tablet.
When does it all kick off?
DAZN officially launches in America in June and our first show will be in September. We will then go again in October and November. It won’t stop. Now the real work starts, we are looking at all the arenas and talking to fighters. Now we have announced this, we can really get going.
This deal essentially means one US show every three weeks, how will you fill such a busy schedule?
We are going to be signing young fighters, Olympians and US national champions coming through and boxing them eight times a year like we do with our UK guys. Then we will be signing the big-name world champions and making sure they box two, three or four times a year. We can deliver for all fighters across our 16 shows.
How many boxers are you hoping to sign for your DAZN stable?
About 30. If you don’t have a promotional contract and you’re a world class fighter – you need to call me ASAP. I’ve got exactly what you need. Having said that, we won’t make the mistake of over-paying or signing more fighters than we can handle. It will be the perfect balance of the best young talent in the world alongside established world champions. We will also be using a lot of our British talent on the undercards – people like Joshua Buatsi will come and build their profile.
Who is on your wish list?
Deontay Wilder, Mikey Garcia, Errol Spence, the Charlo Brothers, Adrien Broner. The list goes on. You’d be a mug not to talk to us, you’d be stupid. Gervonta Davis too. A lot of those guys don’t have a promotional contract or they’re unhappy. So if they are not getting what they want at the moment, they might get it with us. This stable will surpass anything in the world. Within 12 months, we will have by far the strongest stable ever seen in world boxing.
So where is the money coming from?
The funding is from Access Industries, which was founded by Len Blavatnik. This is his baby and probably his primary investment right now. He’s a wealthy man. This is all paid for and it’s not reliant on getting this many subscriptions by this date.
‘IF YOU DON’T HAVE A PROMOTIONAL CONTRACT AND YOU’RE WORLD CLASS, YOU NEED TO CALL ME’
³ Obviously there is a model and we have internal targets but nothing is a panic. It’s not like we’re going to run out of money in two years if this doesn’t work.
Your schedule is already packed, how will you handle such a huge operation across the Atlantic?
It is down to the structure of the business. We’ve got a base and we will be employing eight people full-time in the US. Before it was a little bit fragmented, flying people over and everything else but now we’ve got a team of people out here on the ground. We’ve got Josh Roy, who was head of boxing at Roc Nation, we’ve got admin people, our press man Anthony Leaver is coming here full time. Perform have already got legal, accounts and everything we need. We slot in here nicely.
What about you personally?
I might not have a holiday over the next eight years. It’s a lot of work but really all I am is a travelling salesman - you roll me out when needed. I fly to an event and sell it, then fly to another event and sell it. I’m the caricature but the engine is behind that. My focus won’t change. The UK is our core business and that’s how it will remain but this is an opportunity of a lifetime. We’ve got 22 shows in the UK plus 16 here so that’s 38 shows a year. I’ll be at every one of them – somehow.
How does your wife feel about that?
She knows the importance of the business to our family – it’s everything to our family. That’s what makes us so dangerous, it’s not like we are just employees or on a board of directors – it’s us. We are talking about 30 years of Matchroom. That’s a bloke from a council estate in Dagenham and his chubby, silver-spoon son. To have achieved this billion dollar deal is another level
And what about your dad?
When we first looked at it, he said to me ‘you will never pull this off’. We worked on it together, I needed his help on it, it’s a massive deal. It has been six months of getting it over the line. The competition between me and him drives me every day. We will take the piss out of each other all the time. I tell him he only did 48,000 at Old Trafford for Benneubank, we get that every other week these days. But this is ground-breaking and historic in the sport so it’s a very proud moment for our family. And if I don’t make it work, I’ve failed miserably.
‘IT’S NOT LIKE WE’RE GOING TO RUN OUT OF MONEY IN TWO YEARS IF THIS DOESN’T WORK’