Discovery agrees boxing rights deal with Probellum

Discovery Sports has announced an international rights deal with newly formed boxing promotion Probellum.

The multi-fight deal will see Discovery carry Probellum events across Europe and the Indian subcontinent, covering 62 markets and territories in total.

Coverage will start with this week’s ‘Probellum Evolution’ shows, held in Dubai. The events will be broadcast across Eurosport’s linear channels, streaming service discovery+ and on the Eurosport app.

The deal will also cover fights taking place in Newcastle and Liverpool in March and April respectively. 

This is Discovery’s first major boxing rights deal, with the broadcaster previously seeing success with its coverage of the sport during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 

Trojan Paillot, vice president, sports rights acquisition and syndication at Discovery Sports, added: “Discovery has a strong heritage taking sports to wider audiences and in helping grow competitions and events using our full scale of channels and digital platforms.

“With the global reach that Discovery enjoys, this new partnership with Probellum is a perfect opportunity to showcase some of the best athletes in the world to millions of passionate sports fans in Europe and the Indian subcontinent.”

Probellum was founded by former Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer in September 2021. The promotion, which aims to unify a somewhat fragmented sport, has signed almost 50 fighters from across the globe including French world lightweight champion Estelle Mossely. 

Schaefer said: “Discovery’s truly global audience is the perfect platform for us to help continue with our core mission to open up boxing to new audiences by bringing together the best fighters for fans around the world. Together, I know we are going to bring about real change to the way that live boxing is presented. I have no doubt that it will be the perfect broadcast partner as we aim to transform how fans can experience boxing.”