HOLLYWOOD, CA — Premier Boxing Champions officially became part of DAZN's roster of promotional partners on Thursday, and while the Teofimo Lopez-Rolly Romero welterweight ***** le fight will carry the marquee value on August 22, the more consequential story to come out of the press conference at the Avalon in Hollywood may be everything the deal unlocks below it.
DAZN's head of boxing in North America, Britton Hardin, called PBC the last major promoter needed to bring nearly the entire sport under one roof, joining Matchroom, Queensberry, Top Rank, Golden Boy, Boxxer and Salita Promotions. TGB Promotions' Tom Brown noted the platform actually opens July 25 with Errol Spence Jr. facing Tim Tszyu in Australia, with Lopez-Romero following as the first ***** le fight of the new relationship. Both men framed the deal as removing the biggest obstacle boxing has dealt with for years: division. Hardin put it bluntly, saying the goal is to stop keeping fighters siloed on separate networks and start building the matchups fans actually want.
Ryan Hafey - PBC
Chris Mannix hosts Thursday's press conference announcing PBC and DAZN's new partnership deal
Nobody made that case better than Sebastian Fundora. The WBC super welterweight ***** leholder, whose younger sister Gabriela has fought on DAZN for years, said the partnership finally puts every top name at 154 pounds in one place, including WBA and WBO champion Jaron 'Boots' Ennis, IBF ***** leholder Josh Kelly and Virgil Ortiz Jr. Fundora still has to get through his mandatory defense against Ermal Hadribeaj first, but he made clear where his focus is beyond that fight, naming Ennis as the matchup he wants at the start of 2027. He also weighed in on Ennis' win over Xander Zayas last week, saying he studied the fight closely and noticed a few things in the third round that stood out, adding that the stoppage still gave fans what they wanted.
DAZN's head of boxing in North America, Britton Hardin, called PBC the last major promoter needed to bring nearly the entire sport under one roof, joining Matchroom, Queensberry, Top Rank, Golden Boy, Boxxer and Salita Promotions. TGB Promotions' Tom Brown noted the platform actually opens July 25 with Errol Spence Jr. facing Tim Tszyu in Australia, with Lopez-Romero following as the first ***** le fight of the new relationship. Both men framed the deal as removing the biggest obstacle boxing has dealt with for years: division. Hardin put it bluntly, saying the goal is to stop keeping fighters siloed on separate networks and start building the matchups fans actually want.
Ryan Hafey - PBC
Chris Mannix hosts Thursday's press conference announcing PBC and DAZN's new partnership deal
Nobody made that case better than Sebastian Fundora. The WBC super welterweight ***** leholder, whose younger sister Gabriela has fought on DAZN for years, said the partnership finally puts every top name at 154 pounds in one place, including WBA and WBO champion Jaron 'Boots' Ennis, IBF ***** leholder Josh Kelly and Virgil Ortiz Jr. Fundora still has to get through his mandatory defense against Ermal Hadribeaj first, but he made clear where his focus is beyond that fight, naming Ennis as the matchup he wants at the start of 2027. He also weighed in on Ennis' win over Xander Zayas last week, saying he studied the fight closely and noticed a few things in the third round that stood out, adding that the stoppage still gave fans what they wanted.
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