This
is the fourth (and final) article in my Promoter Snapshot series and will
examine Matchroom Boxing (click here for the previous articles in the series on
Golden Boy, Premier Boxing Champions and Top Rank). Similar to the format in
the previous parts of the series, I'll be looking at Matchroom's strategic
position in the sport, with an emphasis on their stable of fighters, media
contracts and strategy, challenges in the marketplace, and key
decisions to make in the next 12-18 months.
Please
note that the fighters listed in this article do not constitute a complete list of
Matchroom's stable, but they should provide an adequate representation of their
boxers under contract. Also, it should be acknowledged that Matchroom has a
number of top female fighters under contract (such as Katie Taylor, Amanda
Serrano and Cecilia Braekhus) and the company is a leader in promoting women's professional boxing. I haven't covered female boxers in the previous
parts of this series and they will not be a focus of this piece.
Company: Matchroom Boxing
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Anthony Joshua, Matchroom's top star
Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson
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Company: Matchroom Boxing
Company
Overview: Matchroom
Sport was originally started by Barry Hearn in 1982. Matchroom Sport broadcasts
a variety of sports and games such as golf, poker, snooker, darts and more.
Matchroom has been involved in boxing since the '80s and has promoted a number
of British fighters over the decades, such as Frank Bruno, Chris Eubank, Sr.,
Audley Harrison and dozens of others.
The
most recent iteration of Matchroom Boxing corresponds with Eddie Hearn's
ascension in the company. Eddie, Barry's son, is the Managing Director of Matchroom Sport and the de facto figurehead of their boxing program. Starting in
the early 2010s, Matchroom signed a number of world-level British fighters who had been
disappointed with their previous promotion within the sport, such as Carl Froch, Kell Brook, Tony Bellew,
Kevin Mitchell and Gavin Rees. Matchroom then
parlayed their growing fighter roster to become Sky Sports' exclusive boxing
content provider.
The
Sky deal provided a strong, annual revenue stream and the company started to get
more aggressive in signing British amateur talent. They were successful in
bringing 2012 Olympic medalists Anthony Joshua and Luke Campbell into the fold.
They have continued to sign British Olympians as part of their overall strategy
and they now promote 2016 Olympians Joshua Buatsi, Lawrence Okolie, Joe
Cordina, Josh Kelly, Anthony Fowler and Qais Ashfaq.
Matchroom's
2018 deal with DAZN ushered in another paradigm shift for the company. Armed
with a new eight-year deal worth up to $1B from the streaming service (there is
some fine print there, which will be covered later in the article), the company
has established themselves as a leading promoter in the United States. They
have also signed a number of top prospects from around the world. In addition, Matchroom has established a beachhead in other countries, broadcasting cards
from Italy and Spain. There were plans to expand into several additional
countries prior to the coronavirus epidemic.
Under
Eddie Hearn, Matchroom has specialized in staging big events. Did you know that
Carl Froch put 80,000 in Wembley? Anthony Joshua has sold out stadiums in
England and Wales. Bellew and Brook also headlined stadiums. Last year Hearn
made the controversial decision to hold Joshua-Ruiz II in Saudi Arabia and he
continues to court interest from different parts of the globe to stage events.
The company likes to take the show on the road, whether it's a big event in
Manchester or Sheffield, or a smaller show for a local attraction in Newcastle,
Liverpool or Hull. In the United States, the company has followed this strategy of
promoting across the country, with cards in California, Arizona, Texas, Pennsylvania,
Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Illinois, among other
locales.
Similar
to the other major promotional companies in the sport, Matchroom faces several
challenges related to the COVID-19 outbreak. The restriction on international
travel will make it difficult for Matchroom to grow its American and
international operations in the near term. In addition, DAZN's financial
difficulties may provide significant headwinds to Matchroom's global expansion
plans. The company also faces a pivotal decision in 2021 when its existing deal
with Sky Sports expires.
Elite
Fighters: Oleksandr
Usyk, Gennadiy Golovkin, Juan Estrada, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Mikey Garcia
Champions: Anthony Joshua, Dmitry Bivol, Billy
Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, Demetrius Andrade, Devin Haney, Josh Warrington,
Murodjon Akhmadaliev, Julio Cesar Martinez
Recent
High-Profile Champions:
Kell Brook, Lee Selby, Ricky Burns, Tevin Farmer, Murat Gassiev, Maurice Hooker,
Daniel Jacobs, Joseph Parker, Liam Smith, Jessie Vargas, Kal Yafai
Other
Notable Fighters:
Dillian Whyte, Michael Hunter, Kid Galahad, John Ryder, Hughie Fury, Rocky
Fielding, Luke Campbell, Dave Allen
Sleepers
and Potential Spoilers:
Gamal Yafai, James Tennyson, Stephen Smith, Lewis Ritson, Callum Johnson, Scott
Fitzgerald, Ted Cheeseman, Jono Carroll, Zelfa Barrett, Martin Bakole
Top
Prospects: Israil
Madrimov, Filip Hrgovic, Diego Pacheco, Daniyar Yeleussinov, Joshua Buatsi,
Shakhram Giyasov, Austin Williams, Lawrence Okolie
Under-the-Radar
Prospects: Joe
Cordina, Arthur Biyarslanov, Conor Benn, Alexis Espino, Otha Jones, Raymond Ford,
Dalton Smith, Hopey Price, Aqib Fiaz, Jordan Gill, Kash Farooq, Anthony Fowler,
Josh Kelly, Anthony Sims, Reshat Mati, Nikita Ababiy, Qais Ashfaq
Stable
Evaluation: On the
surface, Matchroom features perhaps the deepest stable of talent in the sport,
filled with elite boxers, stars, top prospects and useful B-fighters. However,
much of their top-end talent has only been recently acquired, and many of those
fighters may not be with Matchroom for much longer. Golovkin and Sor Rungvisai
might only have a couple of big fights left in their respective careers.
Matchroom has only one more bout in their contract with Mikey Garcia. Usyk
(33) and Estrada (30), although both elite talents, have suffered a number of
injuries in recent years. Despite Matchroom's impressive list of top-end
fighters, many of them are either in or close to the cash-out phase of their
career. Matchroom's promotional future rests more with fighters such as Joshua, Callum Smith, Haney, Madrimov, Hrgovic, and a number of their other young guns.
Over
the last few years, Matchroom has rapidly branched out from being a leading
British promoter to one of the promotional titans in the sport. They've
invested heavily in fighters from several Eastern European and ex-Soviet countries
(Usyk, Bivol, Madrimov, Akhmadaliev, Yeleussinov, Biyarslanov and Giyasov). In
addition, they've made key signings in the North American market, headlined by
veterans such as Golovkin, Garcia, Estrada, Andrade, Vargas, Jacobs, Farmer, Hooker and
Hunter, as well as young fighters such as Haney, Pacheco, Williams and Espino.
During
Matchroom’s expansion into America, Hearn has received criticism from British
fans for ignoring his home market. Although some of this criticism may
have merit, the larger issue is the temporary trough of talent in
British boxing. The last few years have seen the retirement of several former
champions and world-level British fighters: Froch, Bellew, Haye, Groves,
DeGale, Cleverly, Mitchell, Barker, Macklin, Crolla, John Murray and Rees. Most
of these boxers appeared on Matchroom cards, sold tickets, helped headline big
events, or at the very least, were capable B-sides for well-known
titlists.
The
wave behind that group hasn't been as successful. Of course, Anthony Joshua has
become an enormous star. But injuries
and poor decision making derailed Kell Brook's career; Kal Yafai has failed to
live up to his potential; Callum Smith has yet to put together a consistent run
of solid performances as a young champion; Billy Joe Saunders, talented as he
is, has had several problems out of the ring and only fights occasionally
(Saunders just recently signed with Matchroom); Luke Campbell hasn't yet been able
to make it to the title level; Kid Galahad has a style that few would pay to
see. In short, the next wave of stars, other than Joshua, failed to
materialize.
All of this leads to one of the central questions regarding Matchroom's ability to succeed as an international powerhouse: Can they develop fighters properly? Yes, they had a lot of success poaching established fighters from Frank Warren and Mick Hennessy in the U.K. But given the number of young, talented fighters they've had in England, how many of them will be able to sniff a pound-for-pound list? Is Matchroom overhyping the English fighters they sign? Do these fighters have the talent, but aren't being developed and matched properly? Does the company provide enough resources for their young fighters? The early returns on 2016 Olympians Josh Kelly and Anthony Fowler have not been great and further speak to the difficulty the company has had in seeing their top English talents succeed at the highest levels of the sport.
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Oleksandr Usyk, looking to make a heavyweight run
Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland
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All of this leads to one of the central questions regarding Matchroom's ability to succeed as an international powerhouse: Can they develop fighters properly? Yes, they had a lot of success poaching established fighters from Frank Warren and Mick Hennessy in the U.K. But given the number of young, talented fighters they've had in England, how many of them will be able to sniff a pound-for-pound list? Is Matchroom overhyping the English fighters they sign? Do these fighters have the talent, but aren't being developed and matched properly? Does the company provide enough resources for their young fighters? The early returns on 2016 Olympians Josh Kelly and Anthony Fowler have not been great and further speak to the difficulty the company has had in seeing their top English talents succeed at the highest levels of the sport.
Over
the last few years, American Eric Bottjer has become a pivotal matchmaker for
the company. He has vast matchmaking experience in American boxing and it will
be interesting to see how he does with Matchroom's current prospect stable.
Overall, there is a ton of top-level prospect talent in Matchroom's stable (in
my opinion the best in the industry), but having the best prospects doesn't
necessarily translate into making elite fighters. Given that, Bottjer and the
Matchroom brass have their work cut out for them.
Media
Contracts and Assets:
Sky Sports, DAZN
Media
Overview: Sky Sports
has exclusive British rights to Matchroom's boxing content through their linear cable
channel(s) and Sky Box Office, their pay per view arm. In America, Matchroom is
exclusive with DAZN. These two models differ significantly, as Sky is a premium
cable channel (think of HBO) while DAZN requires an annual
subscription or a monthly fee for Matchroom's entire boxing content with no
additional pay per views (although this could change in the future).
Matchroom's content is also available via DAZN in several additional countries.
Matchroom's
existing contract with Sky could be up as early as 2021. Prior to the
COVID-outbreak, DAZN was planning an aggressive entrance into the British
market. Naturally, DAZN would have been in competition with Sky for Matchroom's
U.K. boxing content. What will happen next, however, is anyone's guess. DAZN is
facing numerous financial difficulties. Over the last year, their parent company
has sold much of their non-streaming assets to free up cash; the company has
turned to the banking industry for hundreds of millions of dollars in
additional credit capacity; and they have even stopped paying some of their
bills during the pandemic, failing to compensate leagues and other assorted
parties for their streaming rights.
In
addition, the existing Matchroom/DAZN contract contains opt-out clauses whereby
DAZN can sever the deal if certain performance milestones aren't met. This
doesn't mean DAZN is necessarily getting out of boxing, but given its solvency
and liquidity issues, it's safe to say that Matchroom's existing eight-year
deal with DAZN is something less than ironclad. At a minimum, it's likely
that's DAZN's plans for rapid global expansion, of which boxing was to play a
significant role, will be curtailed.
DAZN's
entrance into boxing has been messy. Unsure of their business model, they've
already changed their annual fee, instituted a per-month option, and then
subsequently adjusted that. The performance of their streams has been spotty, with streams frequently freezing. As a work-around, many consumers
have been forced to exit the app and log back in, which sometimes works,
but not always. Even with this work-around, consumers often miss pivotal
moments of fight action, creating bad will for the company.
DAZN's
broadcasts have been an exercise in trial-and-error. Their initial play-by-play
analyst, Sugar Ray Leonard, has been removed (he was poor). One of their early presenters, Kay Adams, has left. LZ Granderson was initially hired for their
broadcasts, but I'm not sure what he added to them. Their broadcasts originally
featured taped pieces by AK and Barak, who now broadcast a daily show on
SiriusXM Radio, but no longer are featured on DAZN, which is fine by me.
I
have previously voiced my significant concerns about Brian Kenny in my Premier Boxing Champions article. Sergio Mora occasionally provides timely insights, but
he contradicts himself so often over the course of fight that he becomes a net
negative in the presentation of the fight action. Chris Mannix, formerly a
presenter on DAZN, has replaced Leonard and he's been fine,
although he's often overshadowed by the constant chatter from Kenny and Mora.
Claudia Trejos is a knowledgeable boxing insider and can provide quality
interviews, by why is she interviewing trainers in the 10th and 11th rounds of
a fight, when a match should be at its crescendo? This results in distancing
the viewer from the fight action. This isn't a Trejos problem per se, but it
highlights a lack of understanding by key people running the DAZN broadcast. The
network also features an overreliance on the over-the-shoulder camera angle
that distracts from the action at hand. Overall, it's not a clean broadcast and
Matchroom would be wise to devote more attention to helping to assist in a
better presentation. DAZN isn't yet operating at the level of its competitors from a
broadcasting standpoint.
Hearn
and DAZN have experimented during their time in America. Matchroom has placed
two fights featuring You Tube stars on its traditional boxing cards. To say it
hasn't flowed smoothly has been an understatement. During these fights, the
network relies on a different team to broadcast and hype up these particular
matchups. I'm not against trying to grow an audience base or even broadcasting
these fights, but they haven't worked within traditional boxing cards to this
point.
Over at Sky, the network has made a number of changes in recent years, almost all for the better. They have transitioned over the last few years from a core broadcast team of Nick Halling and Jim Watt to Adam Smith (who heads the boxing program at Sky) and a cast of many, including Carl Froch, David Haye, Tony Bellew, David Coldwell, Paulie Malignaggi, Darren Barker, Matthew Macklin and more. Smith is more assured in his call than Halling was, although he can get caught up in cheering on a British fighter over an international opponent (which, to be fair, is culturally very much a part of British boxing).
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Devin Haney, one of Matchroom's best young fighters
Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland
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Over at Sky, the network has made a number of changes in recent years, almost all for the better. They have transitioned over the last few years from a core broadcast team of Nick Halling and Jim Watt to Adam Smith (who heads the boxing program at Sky) and a cast of many, including Carl Froch, David Haye, Tony Bellew, David Coldwell, Paulie Malignaggi, Darren Barker, Matthew Macklin and more. Smith is more assured in his call than Halling was, although he can get caught up in cheering on a British fighter over an international opponent (which, to be fair, is culturally very much a part of British boxing).
Sky loads their biggest fights with a series of on-air fight panels and reporters in the crowd. Overall, the broadcast is professional and a well-oiled machine. With that said, the less Johnny Nelson, who often plays the contrarian, the better. I'd also like to see Sky further utilize an unofficial scorer on a more consistently basis throughout their broadcasts. Too many of their commentators score rounds even. (Although even rounds do occur more frequently in Britain than they do in other jurisdictions, they aren't as common as Sky commentators' scorecards would have you believe). More reliance on a good unofficial scorer would help provide a clearer picture to viewers regarding the fight action.
Overall,
Matchroom and Sky do a great job of promoting big British fights, often
featuring several programs prior to the fight itself, emphasizing fight
tactics, face-offs or panel discussions. They are usually well-produced, even
if not always nourishing. They also have done great job incorporating podcasts
and social media as part of their media mix. I've really enjoyed Chris Lloyd's
podcasts and his work in broadcasting undercard fights; hopefully his role
can expand over time. One trend with Sky and Matchroom that should be addressed
is their overreliance on pay per view. The content provided on regular Sky
boxing broadcasts just hasn't been as strong as it was a few years ago.
Other
Assets: Relationship
with MTK Global, Annual fight card from Monte Carlo, Strategic partnership with the Sauerland family, Deep
connections with the Great Britain amateur program, Strong relationships with
several top U.K. trainers
Company
Outlook: Eddie Hearn,
although only 41, is already a gifted boxing promoter. He dreams big and isn't
afraid of risk or criticism. In addition, he has the ambition to want to be
great. He wants to expand the sport and his company's dominance within it. In
addition, he's already an expert at cultivating and utilizing the media.
His
approach also has attendant risks. He prefers big splashes over steady growth.
This is not making a judgment about right or wrong, just noting a predilection
of his. Overall, his tolerance or risk and even his courting of risk are
similar to Top Rank's Bob Arum. Both have grand ideas for boxing and their
respective companies, and are comfortable consorting with all different types of
people in order to execute them.
Hearn
continues to think out-of-the-box. His latest conception is, post-coronavirus,
to stage fights on the Matchroom office grounds in Essex. The idea is one full
of risk, health risks for the fighters and Matchroom staff, and
reputational risk should the events go poorly. However, Hearn wants to be a
trailblazer, an innovator, and this idea, strange as it first was to many, is
consistent with his boundary-pushing efforts in the sport; he's willing to
shoulder the blame if it goes poorly.
I don't know how Matchroom will solve the problem of having an international stable of fighters while there are significant travel restrictions throughout large parts of the world. Will Hearn be able to fly back and forth to America to promote fights? Will he be able to stage fight cards outside of the U.K? If not, what will happen to his fighters outside of his home market? Will their development be stalled? How will the travel restrictions affect his ability to sign new talent outside of England? These are serious questions about the future health of his company, and as of now, there are no specific answers that address them.
Perhaps
most importantly, Matchroom's immediate future will revolve around what happens
with DAZN. Even in the worst-case scenario, (the dissolution of DAZN),
Matchroom prospered before the streaming service existed and should be able to
continue without it. Most likely we'll see some form of retraction from DAZN in
the short and medium-term and Matchroom may need to adjust its business
strategy to reflect its partner's changing economic reality.
As
a result, Matchroom may be thinking about Sky far differently than it did just
a few months ago. While outsiders don't know what promises were made regarding
the future of Matchroom's boxing content in the UK, if the decision remains
open, the fact that Sky is a fixture and won't be going anywhere in the near
future should hold a lot more value than it did last year.
Much
of Matchroom's success has been predicated on putting butts in the seat and
creating a memorable atmosphere in the arena and for those watching on TV. I
had the pleasure of attending Brook-Spence in Sheffield and it was a truly
memorable event. As mentioned earlier, many of Matchroom's previous ticket
sellers have retired or are now past their peak. One of Matchroom's main
points of emphasis should be identifying and cultivating additional
attractions for the company. As it stands now, despite having many top boxers
in their stable, Joshua and Golovkin are the only two who can
consistently move tickets wherever they fight.
A
few key questions remain to be answered: How does a company with vast visions of growth recalibrate for something much smaller and more intimate? Matchroom's
dreams for 2020 may be pushed back for a number of years. Will Hearn (and
Matchroom as a whole) want to grind out the mundane for a prolonged period
until the spectacular is once again possible? Will frustration and boredom
set in? For now, being the best promoter may not correlate with being the
biggest. The best ones will figure out how to consolidate, make key
investments and disinvestments, survive, and prepare for a more favorable
environment. For all promoters, these could be lean years ahead, but does
Hearn, who loves the glamour and grandeur associated with the sport, have the
desire to function in this modified context, where corporate wins and goals may be on a much
smaller scale? It's going to be fascinating to find out.
Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.
snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.
Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.
snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.
