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Highlighting the best of the week’s stories
WHEN Eddie Hearn went to America in 2018 and returned as ‘The Billion Dollar Man’ after inking a ginormous international broadcast deal with streaming service DAZN, it seemed like the writing was on the wall for his long-term relationship with UK broadcast partner, Sky Sports.
Hearn dutifully tried to keep both parties happy. In the UK, he would champion Sky Sports. Elsewhere, he would be Team DAZN. The juggling led to inevitable complications and unrest. Hearn, with his deal with Sky Sports nearing its end, knew he had to make a choice. On June 3 the worst-kept secret in boxing was made official: Matchroom Boxing have signed an exclusive five-year deal with DAZN.
“Initially things worked really well,” Hearn tells Boxing News when asked if the switch to DAZN was inevitable. “We were airing our American DAZN shows on Sky Sports. We knew over time, because of the success of the sport and DAZN as a business, that the UK launch, in whatever sport, was inevitable. The bigger problem came when DAZN started their UK boxing service as part of their global service and wanted to air our fight nights as part of that service.
“A big problem for me over the last year or so
