MVP Promotion – Matchroom, Top Rank and PBC all fight for the top spot
Boxing is a complex sport. Unlike other combat sports, such as MMA, fighters don’t have to fight within their promotion, such as in the UFC, for example.
Promotions tend to be treated more as teams of fighters, and a pro boxer will quite often sign with more than one promotional outfit over the course of their career.
As such, it can cause obstacles in making fights, but recently we have seen groundbreaking collaborations with the upcoming Matchroom vs Queensberry event scheduled for June 1 in Riyadh.
Promotions are always fighting to sign the top boxers, retain them for as long as possible, while their popular prospects build a legacy for themselves.
It is safe to say certain promotions have far more worldwide recognition than other more local or national outfits, especially when backed by big broadcast deals.
Forbes recently revealed its list of the top combat sports promotions which saw a number of the sweet science outfits make the illustrious list.
Top Rank, Matchroom, PBC and Golden Boy were all named among the top 10, proving that, despite the rise in MMA, boxing still very much has a global audience and a huge presence in the combat sports market.
Coming out ahead of the other promotions, British-based Matchroom Boxing topped at fifth overall and as the highest-valued promotion in the boxing sphere.
Forbes valued Eddie Hearn’s company at approximately $850 million with a 2023 revenue exceeding $130 million. With household names such as Anthony Joshua and Irish superstar Katie Taylor signed to their roster, it’s not a surprising outcome when looking at Matchroom’s top boxers’ last year in the ring.
Katie Taylor fought Chantelle Cameron last November on a stacked Irish card in the 3Arena Dublin and became undisputed at a second weight class, while poster boy Anthony Joshua enjoyed a stellar 12 months, producing stunning stoppages over Francis Ngannou, Otto Wallin, Robert Helenius, and now back in line for a world title shot in what could be just a matter of months away.
American outfit Top Rank came in slightly behind with an estimated value of over $600 million, Bob Arum’s legendary promotion is setting up to continue its boxing dominance through 2024 with their co-promoted heavyweight king Tyson Fury preparing to face off against Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed title, while Japanese ‘Monster’, Naoya Inoue, prepares to defend his super bantamweight belts against Luis Nery.
Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), having just signed a lucrative deal with Amazon Prime, came in next with a value of around $600 million.
Lagging slightly behind, Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions was the last boxing band to make the list at $450 million.
Unfortunately for the boxing world, MMA continues to reign supreme in the revenue department, with both the UFC and One championship sitting above Matchroom.
However, with so many exciting fights already scheduled for 2024, the gap could finally be closing as the sweet science appears to be well and truly back on the map.