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Home » UK PPV lightbulb blinks as Chris Eubank Jr beats Anthony Joshua record

UK PPV lightbulb blinks as Chris Eubank Jr beats Anthony Joshua record

Chris Eubank Jr. looks on the brink of a UK Box Office run after breaking the viewing figure record previously held by Anthony Joshua.

Before AJ hit the Pay Per View market in 2015, his final bout on regular Sky Sports beat the benchmark set by himself four months earlier.

ANTHONY JOSHUA

Back then, Joshua was smashing his own viewing figures regularly. Therefore, Sky could no longer avoid a long run on the paid platform.

And so it proved as Eddie Hearn put a grudge match with Dillian Whyte on Sky Sports Box Office. Joshua never fought on regular Sky Sports again.

Anthony Joshua Gary Cornish
Lawrence Lustig

Those records stood until Hearn signed Amir Khan. The Bolton man matched those achievements before leaving after his deal expired.

Now, fast forward four years, and Eubank Jr. is the new UK Pay Per View star in the making.

According to Boxxer, “Viewing averaged at 585k throughout the night with a peak of 1.05m which eclipsed the previous record of Anthony Joshua v Gary Cornish in 2015 and Amir Khan v Samuel Vargas in 2018 to set a new record.”

Sky Sports Head of Boxing Development Adam Smith added: “Over one million people watched our big Sky Sports Fight Night in Cardiff.

“With more big fights to come this month. Our audience is growing, and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come.”

BOXXER promoter Ben Shalom says this is just the beginning for his company after replacing Hearn on the UK’s top network.

“We believe in the potential of the sport to grow further,” said Shalom, “BOXXER and Sky are committed to growing the sport and making boxing accessible.

“We’re working hard with Sky Sports to produce Fight Nights that give huge value to our core boxing audience while attracting new audiences into the sport.”

KHAN vs. BROOK

The next installment is Khan himself against Kell Brook. Ironically the fight Hearn signed Khan for but didn’t manage to get over the line.

Khan vs. Brook takes place on the Sky Sports Box Office service on February 19. After which, both men could retire from the sport dependent on the outcome.

As Eubank is eyed as the new Pay Per View figurehead once Khan vs. Brook is in the books, he’s already getting linked to facing the winner at middleweight.

Sky needs to make new PPV stars after Joshua left for DAZN. However, DAZN will launch its own PPV service soon.

This move goes against their very promise upon inception that ‘Pay Per View is dead’.

Far from it, hey?

The views expressed in this article are opinions of Phil Jay.

Phil Jay – Editor of World Boxing News since 2010 with over one billion views. Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.