Who Owns Matchroom Boxing?

Matchroom Sport was founded by Barry Hearn in 1979-1982, initially in snooker and pool promotion before expanding into boxing in the late 1980s. The boxing arm grew through the 1990s promoting British fighters, and its first era was defined by relationships with domestic broadcasters and the development of British championship talent.

Eddie Hearn took over day-to-day boxing leadership in the 2010s, and under him Matchroom Boxing became the dominant British promoter and a growing international force. The division's breakthrough global fighter was Anthony Joshua, whom Matchroom developed from Olympic champion into heavyweight world champion and one of boxing's biggest commercial draws through the late 2010s.

Matchroom built its US presence by staging events stateside and signing American fighters, and it expanded internationally through cards in the Middle East, Mexico, and other markets. Its women's boxing operation became a category leader through fighters including Katie Taylor, whose promotional relationship made Matchroom central to the growth of professional women's boxing.

The 2021 DAZN deal was transformative. Matchroom moved its UK boxing output from Sky Sports to DAZN in an exclusive long-term arrangement that funded its global expansion and unified its British and American cards on one streaming platform. The deal made Matchroom boxing events a core DAZN property alongside the platform's Misfits Boxing relationship.

Through 2024-2026, Matchroom continued promoting world championship boxing across divisions, staged major stadium events, and maintained its position as the leading British promoter and a top-three global operation.