Sky Sports has bolstered its boxing coverage in the UK and Ireland after securing deals with promotions Top Rank and Boxxer.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sky will serve as the home for Top Rank’s US events in the UK and Ireland, with the deal seeing at least 18 international fight nights – and almost 100 hours of boxing – per year screened by the pay-television broadcaster, along with archive content of ring legends.
In addition, Sky’s arrangement with Boxxer will see the two parties work together on developing grassroots boxing and the facilities within the sport.
Sky Sports Managing Director, Jonathan Licht, explained: “We’re very excited to partner with Top Rank and Boxxer to bring more world class boxing to Sky Sports. Top Rank are one of the biggest boxing promoters in the world, and our customers will now be able to see more of the world’s best boxers on Sky.
“Boxxer have ambitious and exciting plans for the sport in the UK, and we share a long-term view for boxing. Sky Sports has been a strong and close partner to boxing for more than 30 years and we look forward to continuing our partnership, giving a platform to the best fights at home and abroad and helping to grow the sport at elite and grassroots levels. We look forward to sharing more details with boxing fans in the next couple of months.”
Top Rank and Sky Sports kicked off the partnership on 12 June when Shakur Stevenson took on Jeremiah Nakathila in a unanimous points win for the former at Las Vegas’ Virgin Hotels resort – one of three Top Rank cards to be aired on Sky this month.
The broadcaster also added that a comprehensive schedule for Boxxer will be released in due course, with the trio hosting a full partnership launch in August.
Top Rank has a deep history with the sport, promoting greats including Muhammad Ali, Manny Pacquiao, George Foreman and Marvin Hagler. Currently, they have Terence Crawford, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Josh Taylor and Mikaela Mayer, among many others, on their books.
“For decades, Sky has been the leading sports brand in the UK,” added Top Rank President, Todd duBoef. “The world’s biggest sporting events and boxing matches have been cultivated under the Sky banner. Top Rank is honoured to partner with Sky to continue to grow the sport both locally and globally for years to come.”
The deals follow in the wake of DAZN’s ‘ground-breaking’ agreement inked with Matchroom last week, dislodging Sky as the promotion’s long-running UK broadcast partner, having served as the home of Matchroom since 2012.
However, heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is contracted for one final fight on Sky, with the 31-year-old set to face Oleksandr Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium later this year.
