SKY SPORTS believes they can keep Anthony Joshua from the clutches DAZN's new boxing broadcast rivals..
The streaming service already has Eddie Hearn, Matchroom promoter, and his stable of stars, including Katie Taylor, Conor Benn, and Josh Warrington fighting on the app.
Sky Sports is confident that Anthony Joshua will remain their boxing 'ambassador.
Hearn believes that his long-standing relationship with WBA, IBF, and WBO kings will allow him to take AJ to the new PS7.99 a month force.
Sky Sports' head for boxing Adam Smith believes that Joshua's loyalty to Rob McCracken, particularly after he was criticized for his defeat to Andy Ruiz in 2019, will be the decisive factor in keeping him on Sky Box Office.
Smith spoke out to launch Sky's return of boxing, with stars such as Chris Eubank Jr., Josh Taylor, and Caroline Dubois.
"He is almost an ambassador for us, and can be seen on photos all over Sky's offices across the country.
"We focus on how we build fighters, smart matchmaking, and taking people all over the country to PPV at just the right time.
"AJ is beloved by the nation. He has the looks, the skill and now he's back.
"AJ is a huge part of our business, so it would be foolish to say that I will happy watch him go. We will continue to fight for Anthony's continued success.
"I believe he is a loyal guy, who has stayed with Eddie McCracken and Rob McCracken, and I think that he will be loyal for Sky."
Joshua's September 25 defense against Oleksandr Uzyk at the new Spurs Stadium will be AJ's last under his current Sky contract.
Although the bidding war could begin on 26th, Smith is bullish and believes that DAZN's advance can be repelled by Smith's PPV platform.
He stated: "AJ's next fight vs Usyk is ours and we have worked hard to get that to Spurs.
"We have been working with AJ since 2012, helping him to build from London 2012. We are looking forward to moving in that direction and talking to him.
"AJ has been an amazing partner for us, and we hope we can keep doing business together in the future."
Hearn was a great driving force behind Skyboxing's front and back camera, and eyebrows were raised when Ben Shalom, Britain's youngest promoter, was made the successor to the Essex mogul.
Smith revealed that Shalom (who created Ultimate Boxxer, which was recently transformed into BOXXER), will be taking a lower-profile approach when promoting.
Smith stated, "Eddie went and that we wanted to keep in boxing."
"We had some wonderful times, but we had to go back and change our direction.
"Ben is an intelligent and cool guy. He's not like Eddie. The fighters will do and be what he wants.
"Ben delivered an exceptional presentation and has a strong team behind.
"It was a shock to the boxing world, but he has really impressed my heart."
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