DAZN will show Anthony Joshua’s next heavyweight title defence in the US, agreeing a deal with Matchroom Boxing’s UK arm to acquire the rights.
Joshua will defend his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles against undefeated, untested American heavyweight Jarrell Miller on June 1. The fight will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Streaming platform DAZN had to acquire the rights separately to its existing agreements with Matchroom, Joshua’s promoter.
Matchroom and DAZN operate a joint venture promotion in the US – Matchroom USA – but US rights to Joshua’s fights are not included as part of the deal. DAZN also has a deal to show Matchroom’s UK-based events, which also does not include rights to Joshua’s fights.
It is understood US rights to Joshua’s fights are sold separately in order to maximise his potential earnings and take advantage of competition in the US pay-per-view market.
Pay-television broadcaster and pay-per-view operator Showtime would be the likeliest candidate to compete against DAZN for Joshua’s bigger fights. It has shown several of Joshua’s previous fights, including his fight against former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Showtime’s most recent pay-per-view event was the bout between WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and ex-lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury – both of whom are expected to face Joshua at some point over the next two years.
Wilder v Fury attracted 325,000 pay-per-view buys for Showtime, which is the favourite to hold pay-per-view rights to a rematch between the two later this year.