Anthony Joshua to quit Sky Sports and join rival DAZN

Two-time heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua will confirm this week that he is cutting ties with Sky Sports after nine years as a pay-per-view star with the broadcaster and will switch allegiance to sports streaming service DAZN, the new and increasingly influential player in the digital era in the sports entertainment market. 

There are huge riches ahead, and ambitious plans for fights around the world, including in Africa. Joshua's first assignment under the new DAZN deal is an attempt to win back the IBF, WBA and WBO belts from his nemesis Oleksandr Usyk, who befuddled the champion with his boxing skills in London last September to usurp the heavyweight titles. 

The two heavyweights will meet for the sequel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on either August 13 or 20, sharing a pot of over £100 million. The date and venue, again, will be made official this week. It will be a pay-per-view event for UK viewers on the DAZN platform owned by the billionaire businessman Sir Len Blavatnik.

Telegraph Sport understands that Joshua's deal with DAZN is a multi-year, multi-fight deal - with the requirement of two fights a year - with DAZN looking to build the biggest contests around the British heavyweight, who holds the ambition both to come back against Usyk, and build a lasting legacy in the sport. Telegraph Sport also understands that the deal with DAZN is huge, a 9-figure US dollar deal, with upside and puts his earning capacity over the next three to five years potentially running into hundreds of millions of dollars. 

DAZN has already entered into such a partnership with Mexican boxing star Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez. But Joshua, still viewed as a huge marketing and promotional brand by DAZN, must get back to winning ways. Usyk,