Despite being based in Montreal, CAN, Eye of the Tiger‘s (EOTT) far-reaching stable encompasses fighters from all four corners of the globe.
At super middleweight, Cuba’s Osleys Iglesias and France’s Christian Mbilli are on the cusp of leading the division. Mbilli holds the WBC title, while Iglesias challenges for the IBF belt against Pavel Silyagin on April 9. Away from the Caribbean and Central Europe, EOTT’s roster includes fighters from South America, Eastern Europe, and several combatants from the Caucasus region, including Imam Khataev and Arslanbek Makhmudov. All while it has a steady stream of fighters emerging from its native Canada, especially in Quebec, where boxing has a loyal and educated fanbase.
The company had seen its fights primarily aired on ESPN+ until recently, leaving EOTT’s far-reaching fanbase struggling to pick up its almost monthly Thursday night events at Casino Montreal. Enter DAZN!
The streaming service took some serious flak when Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn launched his promotion in America alongside the broadcaster nearly eight years ago. However, since the derogatory remarks made by many of boxing’s most revered promoters all those years ago, Queensberry, Golden Boy, and most recently Top Rank have all joined the self-branded “Global Home of Boxing.”
“We did a deal to see how we work together,” EOTT’s President, Camille Estephan, said exclusively to FightsATW. “It’s been great, and they seem to have a plan for boxing. They want to be the home of boxing. Our next show with Iglesias on April 9 for the IBF title is on DAZN.”
For as little as five bucks a month in Eastern Europe, where I reside in Latvia, you can access a helluva lot of high-quality boxing for the price of a pint of lager, where Estephan‘s company has an ever-increasing fan base due to the demographics of its fighters.
“They are marketing the fights, and they are telling the stories of the fighters,” Estephan explained. “It’s exciting because that is what is going to make the sport even bigger. It’s certainly gaining more recognition, especially in the boxing market. They are expanding quite a bit and offering its audience different sports. It remains to be seen, but they have a chance to become the place to watch sports.
“You know what is great? They seem to be open to working with other networks to make sure that big fights happen. They are smart people, and they have the right vision to make the sport thrive and become more popular. That’s long-term thinking, which we have to have.”
DAZN has turned an incredibly long and sharp corner in the boxing world. Its latest deal with Bob Arum’s Top Rank came as some surprise, considering the veteran Hall of Fame promoter said that the broadcaster was unlikely to “move the needle” and that it was a “dead zone” in 2019. Boxing’s most important televised platform now airs the vast majority of the world’s leading promotions. The only serious companies that don’t use the service are Premier Boxing Champions and the new kids on the block, Zuffa Boxing, whose shows air on Prime Video and Paramount+.
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