Sky Sports has won the rights to broadcast the Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua fight in the UK. The subscription broadcaster emerged in a bidding war that included DAZN, with whom Joshua recently signed a long-term deal external to this fight.
Wally Downes Jr. of The Sun was the first to report this development.
The fight, for the WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF heavyweight titles that Usyk won from Joshua in London last September, takes place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 20. It will be screened on Sky Box Office, Sky’s pay-per-view arm.
It extends Sky’s relationship with Joshua, having broadcast every one of his professional fights since he turned professional in 2013 on the back of winning Olympic gold in London the previous year.
Joshua previously had an exclusive deal with Sky, which ran out after the first Usyk fight, and less than four weeks ago DAZN – who agreed a UK deal with Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn last summer – unveiled they had signed a “long-term global partnership” with Joshua.
They said the “ground-breaking deal” made Joshua a global ambassador for DAZN as well as an adviser and shareholder, with rumors that it tied Joshua in for ten fights.
However, the deal did not come with the rights to the Usyk rematch, which were held by the Saudi organizers who had paid a reported £88 million for the right to host the fight. As well as the biggest bid, the Saudis were keen to get the fight the biggest possible profile.
It created a bidding war between Sky and DAZN, with BT Sport and BBC also offered the chance to bid for the fight. Sky drove up the price—reportedly £25,000,000—to the point of driving away the rest of the competition.
Joshua will be bidding to become world champion for the third time, having previously lost the titles to Andy Ruiz Jr, before winning a rematch in Saudi Arabia in 2019.
–boxingscene.com
