Anthony Joshua ends Sky Sports to deal for DAZN
The groundbreaking move ends Anthony Joshua's association with Sky Sports, which has been in place throughout his entire professional career.
The new DAZN deal is reportedly worth £100m a year for the 32-year-old from Watford.
AJ's next fight will be against Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch this August after the Ukrainian beat the Briton on points in London last September.
"I am entering a new phase in my career with a new training environment, new coaches and now a new broadcaster," said Joshua, who will become a global ambassador for DAZN as well as a special advisor to the group.
"Negotiations at this level take time, so I am pleased to have it all wrapped up and now I can fully focus on giving the fans and DAZN what they want – knockouts in the glamour division."
Joshua won Olympic gold at London 2012, before turning professional, has won 24 of his 26 bouts, and held the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO world titles.
He continued, “I've been working with DAZN and following its progress for a long time. We have enjoyed a really successful partnership in the US for many years and I know the team and understand the passion and drive of the business.
“DAZN's vision and passion to innovate is what attracted me to the partnership. They are leading the digital landscape in sport and the future of sports broadcasting. I am really looking forward to a long and successful partnership.”
Eddie Hearn added: “We have been successfully working in partnership with DAZN for many years now and this new announcement with Anthony Joshua emphasises why they continue to set the standard for the future of sports broadcasting.
"We have a shared vision with DAZN to make it the unrivalled home of boxing for fans across the world. Now with Anthony joining the team the stage is set to do even more together and we are looking forward to getting started.”
“AJ is a hugely popular and influential sportsman,” said Shay Segev, CEO, DAZN Group. “His alignment with us and his investment in our business speaks volumes. This deal is his seal of approval for our vision and our direction as a business. We welcome his passion, his drive and – most significantly – the vast audiences he attracts.
“In addition to being a world-class fighter, Joshua is an entrepreneur and businessman. He founded management business 258 MGT in 2016 and represents boxing’s greatest rising stars, including Josh Buatsi, Derek Chisora and Ben Whittaker. His partnership with DAZN is a testament to his belief in the business strategy."
“We are delighted to have concluded this landmark agreement with DAZN. I would like to thank the whole team at DAZN, 258MGT and Matchroom Boxing for helping bring this deal to completion,” said Freddie Cunningham, 258MGT Managing Director.
“We were really impressed with the vision DAZN showed us for the future of Anthony’s career, it was clear from the discussions that we have a shared goal of bringing the fans the biggest fights possible and a partner committed to investing heavily to make them happen.”
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