Bob Arum’s Top Rank Reportedly Finalizing Deal With DAZN

The reported new deal comes after Top Rank's agreement with ESPN expired in 2025.

Bob Arum compares the TKO boxing league to the UFC | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

For the last decade, Top Rank and ESPN have been synonymous in the world of boxing. Established in 2017 and subsequently extended through 2025, this multi-year agreement shifted the landscape of boxing by moving high-caliber championship fights from traditional premium cable or pay-per-view models to a widely accessible "linear-first" platform.

Fighters such as Terence Crawford, Tyson Fury, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Naoya Inoue became household names as their fights were aired on the network.

But in 2026, Top Rank is on the move to an entirely new platform. According to Ring Magazine, in a now deleted post on social media, Arum and Top Rank are close to inking a multi-year deal with DAZN to showcase their upcoming fights.

“The Ring has learned that Top Rank and DAZN have reached an agreement on a multiyear partnership that will be announced this week," the deleted post read. "The deal will provide Top Rank with between eight and 10 dates per year and will pay license fees between $1 million and $1.25 million per event.”

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Top Rank will reportedly join several other boxing promotions on DAZN

The reported deal marks the end of the promotion's eight-month "free agency" following its exit from ESPN. The deal is said to guarantee between eight and ten primary marquee events annually. And it effectively consolidates Top Rank’s current roster of stars such as Teofimo Lopez,
Bruce Carrington, Naoya Inoue, and Xander Zayas—on the same platform on Matchroom, Queensberry, and Golden Boy. 

According to Front Office Sports, the two companies are in the process of finalizing the deal now. FOS also reports that DAZN has been frustrated by Matchroom placing boxers on cards for other streamers, while also seeking additional inventory in light of Zuffa Boxing's entry into the market alongside Paramount.

Top Rank has been a major force in boxing for over five decades

Naoya Inoue celebrates with boxing promoter Bob Arum after defending the world super-bantamweight title at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on January 24, 2025. | IMAGO/AFLOSPORT

Founded in 1973 by Arum, Top Rank evolved into a global powerhouse. Arum was instrumental in the later career of Muhammad Ali as he promoted some of boxing's most epic duels, including the "Thrilla in Manila” featuring Ali vs Frazier.

Arum was hailed as the architect of boxing’s "Golden Age" in the 1980s, managing the legendary "Four Kings"—Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, and Roberto Durán in a series of high-stakes round robins. The most iconic of these was 1985’s "The War" between Hagler and Hearns, an eight-minute masterpiece that is regarded as one of the greatest fights of all time.

In 2015, he helped bring to fruition the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao match, dubbed the "Fight of the Century." After years of back-and-forth negotiations and "network politics" between HBO and Showtime, Arum eventually helped finalize a deal that shattered every financial record in combat sports history. The fight generated more than 4.6 million pay-per-view buys and upwards of $600 million in total revenue.