DAZN would 'love to work with Anthony Joshua' in the UK market

• DAZN and Sky Sports are continuing their broadcasting tug-of-war for British boxing supremacy.
• DAZN agreed to a £100 million deal with Matchroom Boxing last year, luring Eddie Hearn from Sky.

LAS VEGAS — A broadcasting tug-of-war for one of boxing's greatest assets may be getting underway imminently—that is, if it hasn't started already.

In one corner is legacy media network Sky Sports, which has the rights to air numerous lucrative sports and leagues in the UK, and in the other is DAZN — the relatively new market-disruptor in this space.

DAZN drastically changed the boxing landscape in Britain last year as it agreed to a £100 million ($130 million) deal with Matchroom Boxing, which thus lured promoter Eddie Hearn away from a decade-long relationship with Sky.

The domestic rights for combat sports superstar Anthony Joshua, who Hearn has represented since 2013, was not part of that agreement.

Though DAZN does show Joshua's fights internationally, the real payoff is in the British pay-per-view market (PPV) given the two-time heavyweight champion's immense box office appeal domestically.

It is not uncommon for Joshua to generate 1 million pay-per-view sales in the UK alone. At a price point of £29.95, this can create an income stream of almost £30 million ($40 million).

"We're going to be interested in signing Anthony Joshua," DAZN executive vice president Joe Markowski told Insider this month.

Our conversation was mostly focused on Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, and how instrumental boxing's No.1 fighter is to DAZN's business — both in the US and globally.

But we asked Markowski if DAZN's Canelo strategy could serve as a blueprint for its newly created pay-per-view platform — and one that could be applied to Joshua in the near future.

"There's an ongoing process there [and] we don't comment publicly on ongoing conversations," Markowski said.

"Clearly, AJ is a unique asset in the UK in the sense that he cuts through, like Canelo does here with the US audience.

"We've been in conversations with Eddie. We've got a good relationship with AJ that we've built up over four years, internationally. Let's see how that process plays out," he said.

"What we will do is do sensible deals that make sense for our business. We won't be blinded by the lights of opportunities or overspend.

"We love AJ, we'd love to work with him domestically. We're big fans of his and his team's, and we've got a great relationship with his promoter. So let's wait and see on that one."

Though DAZN has launched a PPV offering, it remains a subscription-first model, and has boxing events lined up for its audience throughout March.

Leigh Wood fights Michael Conlon on the platform on March 12; Vergil Ortiz Jr. competes against Michael McKinson on March 19, before Kiko Martinez and Josh Warrington contest their rematch on March 26.

The company's debut PPV arrives May 7 when Alvarez fights Dmitry Bivol in Las Vegas.