Sky Sports agree four-year deal to broadcast Top Rank’s US shows live in the UK, starting with Vasyl Lomachenko, Shakur Stevenson and Naoya Inoue’s bouts this month – but they WON’T have any rights to Tyson Fury’s fights
- Sky Sports have struck a four-year deal to show Top Rank’s US fights live in UK
- Shakur Stevenson’s fight on Saturday will be the first show to be shown by Sky
- Vasyl Lomachenko and Naoya Inoue’s fights this month will also be available
- The deal however does not include rights to any of Tyson Fury’s fights
- Fury is co-promoted by Top Rank but has an exclusive TV deal with BT in the UK
Sky Sports have agreed a four-year deal with Top Rank to show their US fights live in the UK – but they won’t have the rights to any of Tyson Fury’s fights.
According to The Athletic, the deal will come into effect immediately with Shakur Stevenson, Naoya Inoue and Vasyl Lomachenko‘s fights this month all set to be broadcasted on Sky.
The first Top Rank fight to be shown live on Sky will be on Saturday when former featherweight world champion Stevenson takes on Jeremia Nakathila.
Vasyl Lomacehnko’s return to the ring this month will be shown live on Sky Sports
Sky Sports’ deal with Top Rank doesn’t include any rights to show Tyson Fury’s fights in the UK
The move sees Sky reinstate their position as a major boxing network after Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom ended their 25-year partnership last week to sign a ‘game-changing deal’ with streaming service DAZN.
Sky Sports had held the lion’s share in the British boxing TV market for some time, with only BT Sport as their main competitor, until Hearn’s DAZN deal changed the entire landscape.
The broadcasting giants’ future in the sport had looked uncertain but they have now struck a mammoth deal with Top Rank, giving pound-for-pound stars like Teofimo Lopez and Terence Crawford a new home in the UK.
Shakur Stevenson (right) will be the first of Top Rank’s main event fights to be shown on Sky
The deal means pound-for-pound stars like Terence Crawford will fight live on Sky in the future
Fights put on by Top Rank, which is owned by legendary promoter Bob Arum, are currently aired on ESPN in the States. Other world champions in Top Rank’s stable include Josh Taylor, Oscar Valdez, Jamel Herring and Artur Beterbiev.
WBC heavyweight champion Fury is co-promoted by Top Rank but Sky will be unable to show any of his fights because of his exclusive TV deal with Frank Warren and BT Sport in the UK.
‘The deal we have with Tyson is separate. He is co-promoted by Top Rank and with us at Queensberry in the UK where he is aligned with BT Sport. This deal with Sky is solely for Top Rank-promoted fighters. Any of Fury’s fights will be shown on BT Sport in the UK,’ Warren told Sportsmail.
Sky’s deal with Top Rank comes after Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing ended their 25-year partnership to sign a five-year contract with global streaming service DAZN
Sky, however, do still have a deal with boxing’s other superstar heavyweight in Anthony Joshua despite Hearn striking a five-year contract with DAZN to take his Matchroom boxers to the global platform, which launched in the UK last year.
Unified heavyweight champion Joshua was not included in that deal as he has a separate agreement with Sky, which has one fight remaining on it.
Speaking about the deal with DAZN last week, Hearn said: ‘Today is a monumental day for our business, our fighters and the sport of boxing in the UK.
‘Our aim is to deliver a viewing experience that is truly game-changing.’