DAZN EVP Joe Markowski is “100 per cent” confident that Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will clash this year, and has also emphasised to Boxing Social that the broadcaster will be “flexible and open-minded” in their approach to broadcast rights surrounding the fight…
Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world.
It’s the fight that everyone in and around boxing wants. You might even go so far as to say it’s the fight that boxing needs.
A major player in seeking to make the fight happen is DAZN – and the global streaming powerhouse’s EVP Joe Markowski has assured Boxing Social that he is “100 per cent” confident that AJ and the ‘Gypsy King’ will face each other this year.
“I expect those two to fight twice this year,” Markowski said. “I think early summer and late Q4 [fourth quarter of the year] will be the two dates.”
Markowski then explained where talks surrounding the planned duo of fights have currently reached.
“There are two stages of negotiations – first, the fight details. I think they’re getting towards the end of that – the splits of the purse and so on. Eddie [Hearn] says they are at the back end of that discussion now.
“The bit we will get involved in is the broadcast distribution conversation – there are four broadcasters at that table – ESPN and DAZN from a US perspective given our relationships with Fury and AJ, and then there’s Sky Sports and BT in the UK. We at DAZN have obviously got an international angle, too.
“We’ve been involved in conversations with Eddie about it but the meat and bones of those conversations have not yet started. When they do we’re going to come in with a very pro-active, collaborative approach. We’re going to be flexible and open-minded to solutions.
“We’re cognisant that we don’t want to drag our feet for week and weeks. We want this to work and get on with marketing that fight and working for the whole promotion – with all the other broadcasters and promoters. For boxing fans this fight just has to happen, right? No one in the conversation is looking to delay it.
“I can see no speed bumps between now and that fight happening. I’m excited about it as a fan as much as anything. I don’t see any major issues. It’s all looking good.”