Eddie Hearn: 'It was always going to be difficult for Boxxer to replicate what we did with Sky Sports'

Now at the helm of a global operation with broadcaster DAZN, Hearn has unsurprisingly watched the news unfold with interest.

“I said before, and it's not to sound arrogant, but it was always going to be very difficult to replicate what we did with Sky, and it was not just us. It was us and Sky Sports,” Hearn told BoxingScene. “The whole team's working together to really bring the profile of the fighters up, the sport’s up. Great timing with Anthony Joshua, great pay-per-view model. Everything just clicked well.”

The Sky-Matchroom Boxing partnership peaked during the rise of Joshua, whose heavyweight ascent dovetailed perfectly with Sky’s appetite for premium pay-per-view events. But since Hearn took his roster to DAZN – a move backed by significant investment – Sky has struggled to establish a consistent pipeline of box office stars; Boxxer, relatively new to the market and starting from the ground up, signed a host of young stars like Adam Azim, Ben Whittaker and Caroline Dubois with long-term planning in mind.

“When we left, it was like, ‘OK, who are the new stars coming forward?’” Hearn said. “Can Boxxer create that profile and that buzz for the sport on the platform? I don't think they've done a bad job, but it was never easy to do.”

There has been no formal confirmation regarding what happens next for Boxxer and its stable but Hearn wouldn’t rule out some kind of continued presence on Sky’s schedule.

“I don't know the exact position. I'm only responding to the news like you are,” he said. “So I wouldn't be surprised if they did a couple of shows on [Sky Sports]. I think some of those fighters have contracts directly with Sky Sports, so we'll have to see.”

Boxxer's early run with Sky Sports featured a string of high-profile events, none bigger than the long-delayed grudge match between Amir Khan and Kell Brook in February 2022 – a pay-per-view event that drew significant interest. It felt like a statement of intent.

“I don't believe in ‘starting too well.’ I mean, what do you want – to start badly?” Hearn said. “You've got to make big fights when you can. I mean, they did have a good start. They made Khan against Brook, which was a fight that we tried to make for years.

“And it's not easy. Sometimes, obviously, the industry changes, the money for fighters changes, you've got to go deeper into the well, you've got to take more chances, you've got to maneuver a little bit better,” he said. “But, you know, I'm sure they'll stick around in some capacity.”

Might there now be place for Boxxer on DAZN?

“Why not? I mean, the more the merrier. The better the offering for DAZN subscribers, the better,” Hearn told BoxingScene. “But you have to ask yourself … you've got Matchroom, you've got Queensberry. Who can you bring to the platform that's going to make a significant difference to the subscriber base?

“And when you look at the talent roster of Matchroom and Queensberry, is bringing a Caroline Dubois or an Adam Azim – amazing fighters – to the platform going to significantly increase the subscriber base? Probably not. So I don't know. I believe those fighters have got contracts with Sky, so I don't know how it's going to work.”

Tom Ivers is an amateur boxer who has a masters degree in sports journalism. He had his first bout in 2013, joined BoxingScene in 2024 and is now a key part of the UK and social media teams.