BoxRec

MTK Global have announced plans for a trio of ‘Golden Contract’ tournaments featuring title-holders and world-ranked stars from all over the world.

The three competitions will take place at featherweight, super-lightweight and light-heavyweight with eight fighters in each category competing for huge prizes; the ultimate reward being a lucrative contract with one of the world’s leading promoters.

The winner of each tournament will land a two-year, five-fight deal that guarantees six-figure purses for every fight along with global exposure.

To add to the excitement, fighters will not know their opponents until fight week, at the start of which the highly anticipated draws will be made. All titles held will be on the line in each fight and knockout bonuses are also on offer.

MTK Global President Bob Yalen said: “This is a landmark announcement for the company, for the boxers participating, and for the boxing fans. We have no doubt the ‘Golden Contract’ series will capture everyone’s imagination.

“We’ve all seen the success of similar competitions over the years but this takes things a step further with its layered reward system and the big incentives offers.

“The fans are already sure to win because the big names and fast-emerging elite prospects will be throwing everything at trying to win these tournaments - not just for the immediate rewards, but for the future opportunities presented as well. Action is guaranteed throughout the course of the tournaments.

“MTK Global is proud to provide this unique programming to its US broadcast outlet Top Rank on ESPN+ and is also already in talks with British and European broadcast partners.”

MTK Global Professional Development Coordinator Jamie Conlan added: “This is fantastic news for all concerned.

“The major statements just keep on coming and we believe these tournaments can become a mainstay of boxing in the future.

“When you think about it, this format ensures everyone gets what they want. The fighters are booked in for a period of activity, the promoters can assess who the main men are and the fans get to watch all the entertainment unfold.

“I now can’t wait to see which fighters make the final cut and line up for the quarter-finals.”

Three quarter-finals nights will take place in October / November, three semi-finals nights in February / March and the all-important finals will be staged in May / June.

Stay tuned for the announcements of which fighters will compete in the tournaments.

A more advanced Ultimate Boxxer tournament. More to gain. Wonder that promoters they will be working with..

Matchroom? Top Rank? Queensberry?

Most MTK fighters are promoted by the above 3 already.

More tournaments in boxing is a good thing!
Dangan announced a Super Featherweight one this morning too

Surely MTK must be planning a UK TV deal with someone ?

The amount of shows/exposure now with the fighters on their books plus this tournament would surely be valuable coverage for someone.

They were supposed to have had a deal with BNATION.. But nothing even came from that..

Instead they been sticking to the IFL's Youtube channel.

Who else would taken them?

BT? they've already got FW and taken on UB series.

Sky are exclusive with Matchroom

ITV have PBC, not sure if exclusive.

Thing is we have Channel 5, but MTK put on a lot of shows.
They could use 5 Spike?

All good stuff but we know how it's all being funded.

Sky are really putting their eggs in one basket with Matchroom - showing MTK shows on their network will be beneficial for all parties!

kbackup408 wrote: ↑30 Jul 2019, 08:26 Sky are really putting their eggs in one basket with Matchroom - showing MTK shows on their network will be beneficial for all parties!

How long have Sky and Matchroom got on their exclusive deal?

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑30 Jul 2019, 08:42

kbackup408 wrote: ↑30 Jul 2019, 08:26 Sky are really putting their eggs in one basket with Matchroom - showing MTK shows on their network will be beneficial for all parties!

How long have Sky and Matchroom got on their exclusive deal?

Jan-18 a 7 year deal was signed

http://www.matchroomsport.com/news/matc ... agreement/

I find it absurd that sky are not willing to show other promotions shows this is cartel esque behaviour !

kbackup408 wrote: ↑30 Jul 2019, 08:54

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑30 Jul 2019, 08:42

How long have Sky and Matchroom got on their exclusive deal?

Jan-18 a 7 year deal was signed

http://www.matchroomsport.com/news/matc ... agreement/

I find it absurd that sky are not willing to show other promotions shows this is cartel esque behaviour !

They did with Floyd/Pac - Wilder/Breazeale.

That must have been Sky addition to contract to keep Matchroom to them rather than other way around you would think ?

Then again Sky around that time we’re trying to sign up all their major sports to big long term deals with BT and other snapping up a lot of their content.

Cricket/Darts/SPL etc....all got 4,5,6,7 year deals.

I find this a bit unsavoury

Making fighters compete for a job for a willy wonka type golden ticket in the name of public entertainment

It's all a bit x factor

3132DW wrote: ↑30 Jul 2019, 14:51

kbackup408 wrote: ↑30 Jul 2019, 08:54

Jan-18 a 7 year deal was signed

http://www.matchroomsport.com/news/matc ... agreement/

I find it absurd that sky are not willing to show other promotions shows this is cartel esque behaviour !

They did with Floyd/Pac - Wilder/Breazeale.

That must have been Sky addition to contract to keep Matchroom to them rather than other way around you would think ?

Then again Sky around that time we’re trying to sign up all their major sports to big long term deals with BT and other snapping up a lot of their content.

Cricket/Darts/SPL etc....all got 4,5,6,7 year deals.

Sky will not air a another UK promoted show other than Matchroom.

Those 2 you mentioned were not promoted by any UK promoters.

The only recent Wilder fight Sky haven’t shown was against Fury, (BT PPV)..

I don't understand why sky signed an exclusive deal with Matchroom.

They had a chance to keep promoters on their toes and cherry pick the best fights.

ewenhay wrote: ↑30 Jul 2019, 17:32 I don't understand why sky signed an exclusive deal with Matchroom.

They had a chance to keep promoters on their toes and cherry pick the best fights.

It might have been Matchroom that wanted it.

But either way. Sky agreed.

Davies, Ward, Burton, Yigit, McKenna Enter MTK Tournaments

MTK Global is delighted to announce the first list of fighters that will be competing in the light-heavyweight edition of the exciting Golden Contract tournament.

Former British champion Hosea Burton, unbeaten WBO European champion and WBO no. 12 Steven Ward, and former WBC International champion Serge Michel will all be part of the line-up, with even more huge names set to be announced.

The winner of each tournament will land a two-year, five-fight deal that guarantees six-figure purses for every fight along with global exposure.

To add to the excitement, fighters will not know their opponents until fight week, at the start of which the highly anticipated draws will be made. All titles held will be on the line in each fight and knockout bonuses are also on offer.

Burton (24-1, 11 KOs) is the former British champion and has won all but one of his 25 fights, picking up impressive knockout wins over Miles Shinkwin, Jahmaine Smyle, Fernando Castaneda and Ratu Latianara during his career.

Burton said: “I’m the best light-heavyweight in Great Britain, and the reason I’m entering this Golden Contract tournament is because I’m also the most avoided light-heavyweight in Great Britain.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to get some fights and get some exposure, and once I win this competition I’ll move on to big things.”

Unbeaten Ward (12-0, 4 KOs) is ranked #12 by the WBO heads into the tournament on the back of his recent fight of the year contender with Conroy, where Ward came out on top after an incredible back and forth battle.

Ward said: “I feel this is a massive opportunity. There haven’t been tournaments like this before, and it’s a tournament I feel I can win due to my amateur background.

“As an amateur you’re used to showing up and fighting guys on a few hours’ notice from the weigh-in. With this you only find out who you’ll face the week of the fight, so it’s very exciting. There are some massive rewards on offer at the end.”

Michel (8-1, 6 KOs) has displayed impressive knockout power in his career so far, as shown when he stopped Sheldon Lawrence inside three rounds to win the WBC International title in October.

Michel said: “I’m from Germany and a former Olympian and I’m more than ready to win this tournament.”

Three quarter-finals nights will take place in October / November, three semi-finals nights in February / March and the all-important finals will be staged in May / June.

MTK Global is delighted to announce the first list of fighters that will be competing in the super-lightweight edition of the exciting Golden Contract tournament.

Former WBC Silver champion Ohara Davies, recent world title challenger and IBF no. 5 and WBC no. 13 Anthony Yigit, and WBC International champion Tyrone McKenna will all be part of the line-up, with even more huge names set to be announced.

The winner of each tournament will land a two-year, five-fight deal that guarantees six-figure purses for every fight along with global exposure.

To add to the excitement, fighters will not know their opponents until fight week, at the start of which the highly anticipated draws will be made. All titles held will be on the line in each fight and knockout bonuses are also on offer.

Davies (19-2, 14 KOs) heads into the tournament on the back of his victory against former world champion Miguel Vasquez in June, going alongside the wins he has picked up over the likes of Derry Mathews, Andrea Scarpa, Tom Farrell and Paul Kamanga earlier in his career.

Davies said: “I have entered the Golden Contract tournament because I love fighting. I’ve been doing it ever since I was a kid.

“There are many other fighters that are world-class level entering the tournament, but I believe I’m one of the best in the world and this is the only way I’m going to prove it, by entering the tournament and coming in first place.

“I’m confident I will win because I think I am the hungriest fighter in the tournament. Nobody works as hard as me and I don’t think there’s anyone that wants to win as much as I do.”

Yigit (24-1-1, 8 KOs) is ranked #5 by the IBF and #13 by the WBC and is a former European champion with wins over the likes of Joe Hughes, Lenny Daws, Siar Ozgul and Philip Sutcliffe Jnr, and also challenged for the IBF world title last October.

Yigit said: “I’m excited to be participating in the Golden Contract tournament. You’ll see explosive fights from me and I’ll be making sure to see all of them. Everyone will see me on top of the world again.”

McKenna (19-1-1, 6 KOs) was recently in action at the Ulster Hall in Belfast, defeating Darragh Foley in an entertaining battle in June to pick up the WBC International title.

McKenna said: “I’m in this to clear out the riff-raff and the competition. There are a few names in here that have been ducking and diving and dodging me and didn’t want to fight me, but now they’ll be forced to fight me.

“That’s a beautiful thing because I’ll be knocking them out. As I always say, line them up, sign them up and I’ll bash them up.”

Three quarter-finals nights will take place in October / November, three semi-finals nights in February / March and the all-important finals will be staged in May / June.

MTK Global is delighted to announce the first list of fighters that will be competing in the featherweight edition of the exciting Golden Contract tournament.

British featherweight champion and WBO no. 6 Ryan Walsh, Commonwealth champion and IBF no. 15 Leigh Wood, and unbeaten WBA no. 7 Hairon Socarras will all be part of the line-up, with even more huge names set to be announced.

The winner of each tournament will land a two-year, five-fight deal that guarantees six-figure purses for every fight along with global exposure.

To add to the excitement, fighters will not know their opponents until fight week, at the start of which the highly anticipated draws will be made. All titles held will be on the line in each fight and knockout bonuses are also on offer.

Walsh (24-2-2, 11 KOs) is ranked #6 by the WBO and made the sixth defence of his British title in June when he defeated Lewis Paulin, plus he also holds wins over the likes of Reece Bellotti, James Tennyson, Marco McCullough, Darren Taynor and Samir Mouneimne.

Walsh said: “I’ve entered this tournament because I know that I can win it. I’m really excited with the opportunity it brings and the activity.

“There are some good fighters in this tournament but I believe my experience will be the major factor towards my success.”

Wood (22-1, 12 KOs) is ranked #15 in the world by the IBF and won the Commonwealth title with a knockout over Abraham Osei Bonsu in March, before following that up with another impressive knockout win against Ryan Doyle in May.

Wood said: “It’s going to very exciting and all the fans are going to be getting great fights. There will be no ducking and diving or waiting for mandatory positions. You know what I bring every time and I can’t wait.”

Unbeaten Socarras (22-0-3, 14 KOs) is a highly-touted star from Cuba who is ranked no. 7 by the WBA, with 14 of his wins coming by knockout. He has spent the majority of his career competing in America, where he holds wins over names such as Jesus Martinez, Carlos Ruiz, Mike Oliver and Jose Nieves.

Socarras said: “I’m delighted to be entering the Golden Contract tournament. I’ve got 14 wins by stoppage in my career so far and with the knockout bonuses in this competition, I’ll be on the hunt for more wins inside the distance.”

Three quarter-finals nights will take place in October / November, three semi-finals nights in February / March and the all-important finals will be staged in May / June.

3 decent sets of entrants so far - the only finding out your opponent on fight week adds to bit of drama.

Hopefully they get TV deal on back of this event for all the MTK shows - that would help some of the UL coverage.

Doubt it will be a major success ,, the top fighters are not scrambling for a contract withMTK , there already under contract elsewhere

I thought Wood was a Matchroom fighter?

samwbr wrote: ↑12 Aug 2019, 05:47 I thought Wood was a Matchroom fighter?

And if he is?

MTK is a management company that puts on shows. Like PBC.

Clearly I’m not a media contract lawyer, nor do I have any inside information but the 7 year deal is for Matchroom sports other than boxing and boxing’s contract with Sky is till 2021. As I said, I might be wrong but I think this is the case.

Rezzer1967 wrote: ↑12 Aug 2019, 11:38 Clearly I’m not a media contract lawyer, nor do I have any inside information but the 7 year deal is for Matchroom sports other than boxing and boxing’s contract with Sky is till 2021. As I said, I might be wrong but I think this is the case.

They’re already free on Youtube via IFL. I think more people have access to YouTube even via their smart tv’s than have a sports package.

Rezzer1967 wrote: ↑12 Aug 2019, 11:38 Clearly I’m not a media contract lawyer, nor do I have any inside information but the 7 year deal is for Matchroom sports other than boxing and boxing’s contract with Sky is till 2021. As I said, I might be wrong but I think this is the case.

The Darts/Boxing signed new deals.

samwbr wrote: ↑12 Aug 2019, 05:47 I thought Wood was a Matchroom fighter?

You don’t stand in someone’s way if they have chance to make few quid and push themselves on - they have probably said no issue to entering.

Callum Smith/Jamie Cox all entered WBSS.