Top Rank are in advanced talks to sign a broadcast deal with ESPN, just 7 months after their previous partnership coming to an end.
Top Rank have been without a broadcaster for over 7 months now.
Events have been streamed on Top Rank social channels.
In addition to this, many of their fighters have been fighting on other promoters events.
Top Rank and ESPN have shared a long and influential partnership in American boxing.
Their relationship began in the 1980s, when ESPN aired “Top Rank Boxing,” helping both brands expand their reach and popularize televised fights on cable
. After a hiatus in the mid-1990s, the two reunited in 2017 with a landmark four-year exclusive multimedia agreement that made ESPN the primary U.S. home for Top Rank events.
The deal covered live fights across ESPN’s television networks, digital platforms, and streaming services. In 2018, the partnership expanded into a seven-year extension running through 2025, significantly increasing the volume of annual live events and strengthening ESPN+ as a major boxing platform.
According to Brunch Boxing, ‘A Top Rank and ESPN reunion is no longer far fetched’.
A source with firsthand knowledge of the situation told Brunch Boxing unequivocally that “Matt Kenny and Glenn Jacobs sabotaged the ESPN deal and then left to go to Paramount and Zuffa Boxing.”.
‘Whether that claim is accurate or not, the landscape has clearly shifted’.
‘With those executives no longer at ESPN, conversations between the network and Top Rank have resumed in earnest. For now, both companies appear to recognize the value they once created together’.
‘While no agreement is imminent, sources describe the talks as positive, with ESPN actively pushing to bring boxing back into the fold’.
The boxing dynamics are changing by the day, with Zuffa boxing backed by SELA making significant moves.
It is imperative that Top Rank land a broadcast deal imminently.
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