End of an Era: ESPN Splitting From Top Rank Boxing
Top Rank Boxing’s Evan Korn issued the following statement to Front Office Sports:
“We are in dialogue with ESPN and many other parties regarding our media rights,” Top Rank’s director of communications Evan Korn said in a statement. “While we never comment on the specifics of those discussions, we place tremendous value in our existing relationship with ESPN and the industry-defining experience we have together delivered to combat sports fans globally for the past eight years.”
The promotion had prominent bouts featured on both the main ESPN broadcast and the ESPN+ streaming service. The news of a departure may not come as a huge surprise to some fans. After all, reports have surfaced claiming that ESPN would rather retain PPV rights for UFC events than extend the agreement to air Fight Night shows.
FOS also reported that Top Rank is currently in talks with ProBox TV on potentially having some boxers fight on the platform. This wouldn’t be a first for Top Rank, as some of their lesser known fighters have been a part of ProBox TV shows in the past.
It’ll be interesting to see where Top Rank Boxing goes from here. Another promotion, Premier Boxing Champions, had to make the move from FOX Sports and Showtime to Amazon Prime Video. With the DAZN streaming service showcasing a ton of boxing events from various promotions, one has to wonder if it would be a good fit for Top Rank.
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