Anthony Joshua ‘is ready to QUIT his broadcast cope with Sky Sports and sign a money-spinning contract with DAZN ahead of rematch against Oleksandr Usyk’… after Eddie Hearn agreed £100m-a-year cope with the streaming platform
- Anthony Joshua is preparing for his rematch against Olesandr Usyk in August
- The heavyweight is reportedly set to face him on streaming platform DAZN
- Joshua has fought on Sky Sports his entire profession but will ditch the broadcaster
- His promoter Eddie Hearn negotiated a lucrative cope with DAZN last 12 months
Anthony Joshua is ready to show his back on Sky Sports and sign a lucrative cope with streaming service DAZN, reports claim, because the heavyweight prepares for his crucial rematch against Oleksandr Usyk this summer.
Joshua has fought on Sky Sports for the entirity of his profession, along with his promoter Eddie Hearn previously having an exclusive cope with the broadcaster to stage his fights, however the Matchroom Boxing chief has since negotiated a £100m-per-year cope with DAZN that has seen him bring his entire stable on board.
Joshua had been the exception to this deal as he had a separate contract to indicate his fights exclusively on Sky Sports, but that expired after his first fight against Usyk on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September – and the heavyweight has now defected to DAZN, reports the Sun.
Anthony Joshua is ready to depart his cope with Sky Sports and sign with streaming platform DAZN
Joshua has fought on Sky Sports for his entire profession but his exclusive deal resulted in 2021
The Watford-born star has been the topic of a bidding war ever since, the report claims, but he is ready to pledge his allegiance to Hearn’s latest project with DAZN, starting along with his next fight with Usyk – slated to be held in August in Saudi Arabia.
Sky Sports initially felt confident of re-signing Joshua as early as last month, the report continues, with DAZN even feeling that they had lost the race to sign him.
But now the favored app have taken the motive force’s seat after a ‘sudden swing’, and now an announcement could possibly be made as early as next week.
Sportsmail has approached Sky Sports and DAZN for comment.
Sky Sports have had a variety of highlights with AJ – undoubtedly the highest one being his sensational victory over Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium in 2017 – watched by greater than 1.5million people on pay-per-view.
Fans also watched him wrest his world titles back from Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia in 2019 on the channel which saw him turn out to be a two-time world champion.
Joshua’s first fight under his latest DAZN deal will reportedly be his rematch against Usyk
Joshua’s fights on Sky have drawn in tens of millions of fans during his rise to the highest of the game
Joshua has been with Matchroom Sport for all 26 of his skilled fights and signed a life-time contract with the promotional company last September after Hearn’s guidance led him to turn out to be one in every of the world’s top fighters.
AJ said on the time: ‘We have built some great foundations through the years and I appreciate Matchroom – the corporate, the team, the family business.
‘That is form of what drew me towards you guys as well, the integrity that the Hearns have in the case of boxing and business.
‘I’ve felt comfortable during my years as a boxer and I at all times felt that the business outside of sport is harder than the actual fighting because of the history and among the problems that some fighters have had.
‘So, to be with Matchroom Sport has been a blessing for myself, my family and my team.
His undoubted highlight on Sky Sports was his stunning KO win over Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium in 2017
Promoter Eddie Hearn (R) guided Joshua to turn out to be two-time world champion and the heavyweight is now set to affix his project at DAZN after negotiating a money-spinning deal
‘Outside of that, what Matchroom Sport have done is created an environment for boxing fans.
‘The shows that we have now managed to placed on have been phenomenal. Once I walk out to fight, I go searching and I’m like, ‘mate, that is unbelievable’.
‘From where we began, to the center of the journey, the foundations we have now created are phenomenal and I can not wait to see what the longer term holds.
‘In my humble opinion, what higher place to be than Matchroom Boxing?
‘I even have heard that my signature was hot property. I’m pleased where I’m. A handshake is nice enough for me, however the signature solidifies it and I’m pleased where my signature is.’
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