Tommy Oosthuizen just won the boxing lottery. The undefeated IBO light-heavyweight champion will become the first South African to join Premier Boxing Champions.
PBC is an exciting new boxing promotion created by Al Haymon.
The PBC is shaking up world boxing with an unorthodox model that takes action away from pay TV, ensuring mainstream exposure on the United States’ major television networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC), their connected networks (ESPN, NBCSN, and CBS Sports Network) and Spike and Bounce TV.
Tommy Oosthuizen
Its slogan is unequivocal: “In boxing, there is no middle ground. It’s stand or fall. All or nothing. Premier Boxing Champions: Where the Next Legends Collide.”
Golden Gloves has been negotiating with PBC for several weeks and has just confirmed the deal. Not only will Oosthuizen’s next fight – against Roberto Bolonti on June 6 – be broadcast Stateside, he will go into the mix for a significant September bout in the US via PBC.
He could even be on a collision course with WBC champion Adonis Stevenson, who fights for Haymon, but many other PBC-linked light-heavyweights could be lined up.
Haymon manages and advises over 150 fighters, among them pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather.
Golden Gloves was happy to do the deal, mainly because it guaranteed massive exposure for Oosthuizen without surrendering their rights. The PBC Series was created for television by Haymon Boxing, and licensed promoters promote bouts featured within the series.
It’s also true that Oosthuizen will enjoy a massive hike in purse fees under the new deal.
Said promoter Rodney Berman: “Haymon is shaking boxing up with his revolutionary approach. The real winners are the boxers, who will earn good money and get good action. This is a massive step for Tommy, who can secure his financial future if he boxes as well as we all know he can.”
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