Sky Sports outbid DAZN to win Usyk vs Joshua 2 broadcasting rights
Joshua and Usyk will clash for a second time next month with the fight set to be shown on Sky Sports Box Office after they out-bid streaming service DAZN
Anthony Joshua's rematch with Oleksandr Usyk will be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office – despite the former world champion signing an exclusive mega-money deal with streaming service DAZN.
Joshua announced last month that he was leaving Sky Sports having been with the broadcaster since his professional debut in 2013. But it later emerged that his sequel with Usyk was not part of the deal – and so a bidding war ensued. And the Daily Telegraph revealed that Sky Sports edged out their rival after bidding reached £28million.
Joshua will bid to win back his three heavyweight world titles from Usyk in Saudi Arabia on August 20, almost a year after he was beaten at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The rivals are expected to share a purse of at least £100million.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn surprisingly revealed this month that the most important fight of Joshua's career was not included in his £100m deal with DAZN. "This fight is outside of the the DAZN deal, the long-term DAZN deal, because the rights are owned by the site effectively, so that'll be negotiated separately."
After putting pen to paper last month, Joshua said: "I am entering a new phase in my career with a new training environment, new coaches and now a new broadcaster. 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.
