EDDIE HEARN is leaving Sky Sports to take his boxing stable to streaming app DAZN in a massive nine-figure deal.
The Matchroom kingpin, who was elevated to chairman this week as founding father Barry stepped down, has struck a deal with the London-based firm to take Sky’s best fighters and fans to the new rivals.
Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte are separate entities free to make their own deals but superstars like Katie Taylor, Lawrence Okolie and Conor Benn are part of the deal.
That means Taylor’s clash with Natasha Jonas on May 1 will still be on Sky – although it will be her last.
Sky Sports have been bracing themselves for the move as their contract expires in June and Hearn recently confirmed he had four offers on the table.
The Essex mogul confirmed last week that Sky will have a tough job replacing him and his stable of champions but the broadcasters are confident they will cope with his exit.
Hearn said:.”Sky aren’t just going to replace us with a B-option, well not even a B-option, whatever option that is. They’re going to lose a huge powerhouse of subscription driver.
“Of course we know DAZN are extremely aggressive in that space at the moment but you’re only really as powerful as your TV deal in this game.
“The reason we’ve been able to get to where we got is because of the backing of Sky and we don’t take that for granted.
“They’re been a huge part of our success and that’s why these conversations are very difficult at the moment.
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“You can also understand that if I was to make a broadcast move, it would be for a reason.
“We’ve got no reason to leave Sky outside of something that would change our life, our vision for the sport and our fighters’ lives as well.
“It’s an extremely difficult decision for us but it’s flattering. But we’ve worked hard to get here. We really have built an incredible global business and that’s part of the decision making process; the global landscape.”
Hearn has worked exclusively with Sky since 2012 but this link-up with DAZN has let him take his brand worldwide.
He worked with DAZN for the first time in the USA back in 2018 in a deal to broadcast 16 shows on American soil.
And his dream is to have an almost total monopoly on the sport like Dana White does with his MMA promotion, UFC.
“We’ve turned our business around in America,” he said. “We have Canelo Alvarez out there.
“We have shows in Uzbekistan, we were in Gibraltar, we are in Miami, then Barcelona, then Manchester for the pay-per-view on Sky, then we’re in Dallas, then back in the UK for a show on May 15, then we’re in Milan. It’s just unbelievable.
“We are the global force, we are probably the only global force. There’s no-one else touching what we are doing or even making a charge globally.
“We are set to become the UFC of boxing and it’s only a matter of time.”
DAZN refused to comment when approached by SunSport.
