A 20p coin and defaced old ticket stub are Joe Markowski’s favourite momentos from the opening year of DAZN’s billion-dollar boxing deal.
The UK-based sports streaming service shook up the game last September when they linked up with promoter Eddie Hearn, beamed Anthony Joshua across America and then tied Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez into an 11-fight deal worth around £325million.
Since then they have taken AJ to America, added Gennadiy Golovkin to their roster and brought into the money-spinning rematch between YouTube sensations KSI and Logan Paul.
There have been tremendous highs and sickening lows for the EVP North America but, after an expensive year bulldozing their way into the market, 31-year-old Brit Markowski looks back at the spell proudly as he and the brand prepares for another assault on 2020.
At the Hammersmith HQ, Markowski told SunSport: “Avoiding getting hit by any projectiles at the KSI vs Logan Paul press conference was a highlight, I narrowly dodged a 20p coin hurled at me and that will be getting framed.
“The signing of Canelo and the Canelo vs Danny Jacobs fight in May were strong moments for our business, it proved a few doubters wrong.
“Bringing AJ to New York was great too, obviously it was not the result he or Matchroom would have wanted but it was a hell of a night and to be part of that was fantastic.
“Those two major nights were the products of so much hard work that I am personally very proud of.
“I still have my ticket for that fight where someone had crossed out Miller’s name and just written ‘Ruiz’ above it. He has gone from someone who didn’t even have his name on the ticket to the heavyweight champion of the world.”
DAZN appeared to have cooked their golden goose when AJ lost to the 19st Mexican at Madison Square Garden on June 1.
But the automatic rematch clause means they have been able to turn what looked set to be a run-of-the-mill defence into a career-defining sequel.
The setting of Saudi Arabia came as a curveball and Markowski pulls no punches explaining how much DAZN bid against that controversial desert backdrop.
He said: “We’re on record saying we preferred the fight in the U.S., Eddie knows that.
“Sky would have preferred it at Wembley or Cardiff as we wanted it in New York, LA or Las Vegas.
“Our advice was that it would probably be best on the East Coast so AJ could cleanse his psychological wound and, from a business perspective, we wanted it on an American time zone at 11pm Eastern instead of around 4pm or 5pm depending on how the night goes.
“We made a financial offer that incentivised the US, I am sure Sky did the same with the UK but ultimately it was not our decision.”
The mega-money US market that was unsure of AJ before his shock loss have now written off the Englishman and accepted the party line that it was the Watford man avoiding Deontay Wilder and not the other way around.
Being dropped four times by Ruiz Jr and taking the rematch to the Middle East has savaged his reputation but Markowski, who’s made a brilliant career of reading his markets, believes his resurrection is just a few punches away.
He said: “I think core boxing fans recognise and respect the success Anthony Joshua has had in a relatively short boxing career.
“There will always be naysayers when someone doesn’t succeed at something and I am sure AJ was expecting that after he lost but he has a hell of an opportunity to come back and shut a lot of people up.
“We see tremendous value in working with AJ and we are confident, with his character and the way he looks and behaves, that Americans will fall in love with him in the same way the British sporting population did.
“But that can only happen if he beats Ruiz and put his career back on track to where he wants it to be.”
With Mexican icon Canelo now joined on DAZN by two-fight nemesis Golovkin, the trilogy fight looks a doddle to make.
Canelo has since won a super-middleweight strap and bids for a light-heavyweight crown on November 2, while GGG looked vulnerable in a narrow points wins over Sergiy Derevyanchenko on October 5.
The pale-skinned Mexican nicknamed cinnamon, is no longer sweet on the third installment but Markowski expects talks to resume once WBO 175lbs king Sergey Kovalev is dealt with.
He said: “We are on record and it is clear that Canelo and Triple G have a lot of unfinished business and the fans want the third fight.
“There are huge debates about the results of those two fights, as a result, we want the third fight to happen and Canelo knows that. Making that happen is a key part of our relationship with them.
“Assuming Canelo comes through the challenge of Kovalev, which is no safe assumption because it is a hell of a test against a light-heavyweight at the top of his game, we will sit down and discuss the plan for 2020.”
Markowski’s role means he now takes a seat at pre-fight press conferences and addresses the crowd just after promotional partner and pantomime villain Hearn.
In the era of trolling, Markowski and his mum have managed to ignore most of his critics but his close-knit circle of friends have been on hand throughout his new-found fame to keep abreast of the most cutting insults.
He said: “No one has been particularly kind about me online yet and my friends have at least found it hilarious but my mum finds it a bit disconcerting.
“Overall I have loved it, it’s not been sought out or expected but it is definitely part of the job now.
“I think people see me as a floppy-haired, well-spoken young Englishman who has suddenly been thrown into this world of very different Americans and that is very funny.
“I have a fantastic team around me that have helped with everything, including any particularly trolling comments on a YouTube video. It’s all fun and just part of the job.”
