Matchroom

Matchroom is the sports promotion company founded by Barry Hearn in Brentwood, Essex, in 1982, where it is still based. It began in snooker management with Steve Davis, Dennis Taylor and Jimmy White, staged its first boxing promotion in 1987 when Frank Bruno met Joe Bugner in front of about 35,000 at White Hart Lane, and now runs boxing, darts, snooker, pool and golf. Eddie Hearn took over as chairman from his father in April 2021 and continues to head the boxing division.

Anthony Joshua and the big nights

Matchroom Boxing's defining fighter has been Anthony Joshua, signed in 2013 a year after his Olympic gold and promoted through every professional fight, including the 90,000-crowd win over Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley in 2017 and the Ruiz rematch in Saudi Arabia in 2019. In September 2021 Joshua agreed a deal with Matchroom that runs to the end of his career.

DAZN and growth

In May 2018 Matchroom agreed a five-year deal with the streaming service DAZN, reported at £740 million, and moved its UK output from Sky Sports to DAZN in 2021. A new five-year DAZN deal announced in February 2026 runs to 2031 with 30 Matchroom events a year. In May 2026 the company sold a 15 per cent stake to the American private equity firm Bruin Capital in a deal valuing it at more than £1 billion, with the Hearn family retaining control.

Fury v Joshua

Matchroom is listed by the British Boxing Board of Control as a promoter of Fury v Joshua at the Principality Stadium on 11 December 2026, alongside Queensberry and Sela, with Netflix streaming the fight worldwide. Chief executive Frank Smith has said the fight was made for the UK, and Hearn has said the contracts cap the ring walk at 2am.