Golden Boy Promotions has announced a partnership with Facebook to bring live boxing and original programming to a global community of fans on the platform.
The first of five live fight nights on Facebook will debut on August 11 and will feature Jesus Rojas (26-1-2, 19 KOs) defending his WBA World Featherweight Title against Joseph “JoJo “Diaz Jr. (26-1, 14 KOs) at the world-famous Avalon Theater in Hollywood. The second live fight will feature light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera (21-2, 14 KOs) against a soon-to-be-announced opponent on August 18 from the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Golden Boy Promotions also announced that Kathy Duva’s Main Events will participate in the live series. The action will be available to fans in the U.S. on Facebook Watch and globally via the Golden Boy Promotions Page.
“This game-changing deal for the sport of boxing places Golden Boy Promotions and its stable of fighters at the intersection of live sports mega-casting and ultimate fan engagement. Our team is now positioned to present world-class boxing from Silicon Valley, to Madison Avenue, to Hollywood and to the rest of the world. The reach of Facebook is just incredible, and our sponsorship conversations will truly resonate with brands across all categories,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions.
Golden Boy Media and Entertainment will serve as the production entity producing the live fights and original programming. De La Hoya will serve as Executive Producer and will invoke his extremely high standards across the board and push for entirely new approaches to presenting the sport to the Facebook audience. For example, the live broadcasts will incorporate the real-time fan interaction and engagement made possible by Facebook’s social video platform.
“We’re thrilled to team with Golden Boy Promotions to make Facebook a home for championship-caliber boxing this year,” said Devi Mahadevia, North America Live Sports Programming Lead at Facebook. “Through this unique partnership, a global community of sports fans will have free access to some of boxing’s most exciting live bouts and be able to interact with the action like never before.”
The deal has several underlying elements that will work in harmony to heighten the sport of boxing on a global scale. The live boxing series will be bolstered with strategic shoulder programming, including rebroadcasts of past fights featuring commentary from the boxers themselves. Shoulder programming will also feature major celebrities, prominent influencers, and top-tier boxing authorities from print, TV and the internet. The debut episode of this complimentary content will be on July 13, with details to be announced.
“Our goal is to provide the best fights in the world to the largest audiences across the globe. Through our amazing partnership with Facebook, Golden Boy Promotions can now truly grow the sport organically. We now have the ability to reach and speak to younger fans, while at the same time making our fighters and matches available to a larger audience for free on the world’s strongest and most prolific social media platform,” said Eric Gomez, President of Golden Boy Promotions.
With Golden Boy’s commitment to making the world’s greatest fights, they have partnered with Kathy Duva’s Main Events. This unique partnership will beautifully cultivate boxing on Facebook as it bolsters the number of world-class fighters to be featured and will ensure that audiences are treated with the best matchups possible.
Main Events CEO, Kathy Duva, said, “Main Events has a rich history in this sport; boxing is in our DNA. For too long, promotional companies have been at odds over a limited number of television dates. We look now to a future with Facebook with unlimited opportunity, where promoters can work together to best serve the interests of the fighters and fans all over the world.”