Sky Sports has committed to returning to boxing in the new year with a potential new broadcast deal involving Dana White and Jake Paul’s promotional companies.
The broadcaster has been the leading force in British boxing since the turn of the century, but industry sources suggested it had been considering its future in the sport in the wake of its four-year £36million contract with Boxxer expiring in June.
Boxing’s landscape also changed significantly during that period, with Riyadh hosting the majority of the biggest fights, while Britain’s two leading promoters, Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren, both have exclusive deals with the streaming service DAZN, in which the Saudi Public Investment Fund is a minority shareholder.
Warren, left, and Hearn both have exclusive broadcast deals with DAZN
MARK ROBINSON/MATCHROOM BOXING/GETTY IMAGES
However, Sky is determined to maintain its foothold and, while it remains in active discussions with several parties, there is hope that agreements with both Zuffa Boxing and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) can be finalised within two months. Zuffa is a new venture backed by TKO, which owns the UFC (mixed martial arts) and WWE (wrestling), and Turki Al-Sheikh, the Saudi potentate, who has spearheaded the country’s boxing takeover.
Fronted by White, the UFC president, Zuffa’s inaugural event was the super fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Terence Crawford in September. It plans to stage 12 cards in 2026, beginning in Las Vegas on January 23, and implement a league structure similar to that of the UFC rather than using boxing’s traditional sanctioning bodies.
Sky has also held talks with MVP, the company founded by Paul, who fights Anthony Joshua in Miami in the early hours of Saturday, and his business partner Nakisa Bidarian, a former UFC executive. As part of his transformation from YouTuber to professional boxer, Paul has invested heavily into women’s boxing. MVP last week announced the signing of Caroline Dubois, the WBC lightweight champion and sister of Joshua’s heavyweight conqueror Daniel Dubois, whose previous fights have all been broadcast on Sky.
Paul has also signed fellow British world champions Chantelle Cameron, Ellie Scotney and Terri Harper, along with former middleweight champion Savannah Marshall, and Sky is keen to ensure it remains at the forefront of British women’s boxing.
Sky has held discussions with Most Valuable Promotions, the company founded by Paul, and there is hope a deal can be finalised within months
MARCO BELLO/REUTERS
It is understood that Sky is hoping to conclude both deals in four to five weeks, but sources cautioned that there are still points to resolve. The Zuffa deal is the broadcaster’s priority, but White is yet to reveal the boxers who will be part of the new league.
Zuffa is also still in the process of driving through an amendment to the Muhammad Ali Reform Act, a federal law passed in 2000 to protect boxers from exploitation by promoters, managers and sanctioning bodies, so that fighters can opt into the league’s single-champion model. The proposed bill has been met with controversy after the UFC paid a $375million (about £280million) settlement to former fighters in 2024 as the result of an antitrust lawsuit that alleged it had monopolised the market and used restrictive contracts.