According to The Ring Reporter Keith Idecthe deal is expected to be officially announced this week. The deal will provide Top Rank with between eight and 10 events annually, with DAZN paying licensing fees ranging from $1 million to $1.25 million per show.
Negotiations between the two sides had been ongoing for more than a year. Talks began long before Top Rank’s exclusive eight-year broadcast deal with ESPN was signed following the July 26 card staged at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
President Todd duBoef also explored potential partnerships with other streaming platforms, including HBO Max, before finalizing the DAZN deal.
The financial scope of the new arrangement is smaller than the previous ESPN partnership. According to reports, ESPN paid the highest ranking approximately $90 million per year for a minimum of 30 shows across ESPN and ESPN+. About $84 million of that annual budget covered license fees, while about $6 million went to production costs.
Even so, the new deal gives Top Rank a platform to ramp up activity after relatively few shows in the past few months. The deal also allows flexibility for Top Rank fighters to appear on larger DAZN cards backed by Riyadh Season and The Ring.
Top Rank still maintains one of the deepest rosters in the sport. Among the fighters currently under contract are Janibek Alimkhanuly, Xander Zayas, Abdullah Mason, Raymond Muratalla, Emanuel Navarrete, O’Shaquie Foster, Rafael Espinoza, Brian Norman Jr., Robson Conceicao, Richard Torrez Jr., Jared Anderson, Delante Johnson, Rohan pro Polanco and Vargas prospect Emiliano.
Before the new deal was completed, Top Rank and ESPN also explored the possibility of continuing their partnership on a smaller scale.
Meanwhile, ESPN recently entered into a separate deal with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions on March 6th.
The addition of Top Rank further strengthens DAZN’s position in the boxing market. The streaming service already has major promotional partnerships with Matchroom Boxing and Queensberry Promotions, while Golden Boy Promotions has also regularly hosted events on the platform.
