Eddie Hearn and his prized-possession Anthony Joshua have taken the world by storm the last two years. Matchroom Sports flagship fighter has created a buzz never seen before in the United Kingdom by packing over 168,000 fans into stadium events in 2017 alone. Joshua’s epic-mash-up with former heavyweight kingpin Wladimir Klitschko put him over the top.
Anthony has all the necessary ingredients from the GQ-model looks to his chiseled-frame wrapped up in a humble personality. Did I mention the boy who grew up some 10 minutes away from Wembley Stadium now as a full-grown adult has real skills and a huge heart? Those attributes were on full display as Joshua caught his second breath able to rise to the occasion as many legendary pugilists have in the past. The total package nearly derailed last April between rounds 6 and 8. Joshua was dead tired having exuded too much energy in the 5th trying to end the fight and celebrating too early.
Over the coming weeks after his epic rally-knockout of Wlad, people in the United Kingdom and much of the world speculated on just how great Anthony is. Some fans went as far as posting images on social media in true fanboy fashion. One picture stretched Klitschko’s neck upwards making it seem as though Joshua’s uppercut was centimeters away from decapitating Wladimir. Or the side by side image of Ali and Joshua in a similar pose standing over there respected opponents after a knockdown.
All and all Anthony Joshua, to steal a line from Snoop, is the real-deal Holyfield. It’s now a matter of just how big this guy can get which obviously equates to a stronger presence in America. Not because him and Eddie can’t make a killing in their home base. It simply comes down to overall revenue in Las Vegas and a much higher price tag for PPV buys in the states. Floyd Mayweather’s overall net-earning is a perfect example of the difference between 20-30 million a fight and 9-digits purses.
A potential HBO versus Showtime bidding war for Joshua is on the horizon. For both of A.J.’s events this year the networks fiercely battled it out. It seemed like HBO never really had a chance to secure the live feed instead chose to kill the potential for Showtime to properly advertise in advance of the Klitschko/Joshua fight.
Rumors swirled about Anthony’s last outing in October that HBO head Peter Nelson was willing to fork out 1.6 million dollars driving the price up for Showtime who reserved the right to match any offers. It’s just a matter of time until Anthony Joshua becomes a free agent. (1 fight it’s believed) Although HBO has made a valiant effort they don’t have that much left in the clip to unload. We know Showtime has a sizable yearly budget advantage over HBO, a fact that was unfathomable until recently. Yes, HBO does have a bigger subscription base but there boxing ratings have taken dip in the past 12 months. Showtime also made up some ground in the last two year or so offering more live stream options like Hulu and the SHO App.
As far as larger platforms each network could use to sweeten the deal, CBS owns Showtime and has a farther reach over Time Warner’s TNT for boxing. Showtime has already used CBS with great success whereas HBO would have to figure it out with TNT to an extent.
Another item worth mentioning is Deontay Wilder serving as the biggest name in the US Joshua could fight outside of Tyson Fury and David Haye. Only Joshua/Wilder at this point could be built into a large American event. If Showtime does in fact sign a long-term deal with Joshua clearly CBS will have to be involved for any hope of placing a Wilder/Joshua PPV stateside.
Let’s face it, a CBS afternoon/prime-time doubleheader featuring both men this spring is the only way a summer PPV would sell. Ultimately a rematch maybe the only chance of it taking place here, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the first fight was on CBS in the afternoon.
Hearn kept mentioning having to overpay for opponents in every interview last week. He would also say if he offered future Joshua opponents their true worth the fights wouldn’t get made. My response is no kidding Eddie. Tell us something we don’t know. After all if your guy is the cash cow there’s a great chance his foes will be making career-high paydays.
I’m sure Eddie was making it crystal-clear sending a message to all the belt holders and contenders. Letting them know he doesn’t have a blank check for them they can just write any number in the box. If this blogger had to guess Anthony Joshua’s 2018 schedule would consist of Big Baby Miller from Brooklyn in New York say March/April and then a huge event against Deontay Wilder in either Las Vegas or the U.K.
Written by Chris Carlson Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast Available on Apple Podcast (ITunes), Player.FM, Stitcher, Tunein, www.blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio & More! Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio