Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 - Sky beats DAZN to win broadcast rights in the UK

Oleksandr Usyk (left) Vs. Anthony Joshua (right)
Oleksandr Usyk (left) Vs. Anthony Joshua (right)

With Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua quickly approaching, there's been a lot of uncertainty with which broadcaster will televise the fight in the UK. It has now been reported by The Sun's Wally Downes Jr. that Sky Sports will showcase the event live on Sky Box Office.

After Joshua signed his huge nine-figure deal with digital streaming service DAZN, many thought that his first fight in his partnership would be against Usyk. However, his former broadcasters will get one more show with him.

Sky have been in partnership with the former Olympian since he first entered the professional game. Since 2013, Joshua has proven to be one of Sky's most financially rewarding fighters. He became a two-time Unified Heavyweight World Champion in that time.

Matchroom Boxing also separated from the broadcaster in 2021, with Eddie Hearn taking the majority of his high-level fighters with him to DAZN. Sky are now in partnership with Ben Shalom's BOXXER and have already showcased some terrific events.

For the rematch's purse bid, Sky, DAZN and even BBC were engaged in a bidding war. Sky blew the other companies out of the water with a £25 million purchase, which has now secured them the rights to showcase the event.

Anthony Joshua will be attempting to become a three-time world champion by defeating the skilled Ukrainian. If the Watford-based heavyweight can regain his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titles, he could look to continue his quest to become undisputed.


How much did Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk earn in their first fight?

When the pair first met inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September 2021, they sold out the entire arena of 80,000 people. This, however, wasn't the only success of the night.

Sky Sports grossed more than 1.2 million pay-per-view buys that were priced at £24.95. This totalled around £3 million in pay-per-view purchases.

Ultimately, the Brit pocketed around £5 million of pay-per-view revenue, while his opponent earned £1-2 million from Sky Box Office buys and DAZN viewings. This was then accompanied by their guaranteed payouts of £10 million for Joshua and £3 million for the Ukrainian.

Watch Joshua vs. Usyk 1 here:

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