Roughly a month ago, Xander Zayas headlined a card in New York. A dominant performance saw him defeat Jorge Garcia Perez to claim the vacant WBO light middleweight title. It was a critical moment in the young 22-year-old Puerto Rican fighter’s career. What made Zayas’ victory and the card even more poignant was that it coincided with a momentous phase in the history of American boxing—the end of an eight-year partnership between Top Rank and ESPN. For the first time, the sport was left without a linear home on American TV.

What followed next surprised many followers. Weeks after Bob Arum‘s promotion and the Walt Disney-owned sports network parted ways, news broke. Once its contract with ESPN expires at the end of the year, Dana White‘s UFC will embark on a new subscription-based journey with Paramount. The $7.7 billion seven-year deal reverberated through the combat sports world and remains a talking point across the industry. However, the landscape, especially for boxing, might soon witness a shift. According to boxing insider Rick Glaser, Top Rank appears to have joined forces with a new television network. The move might seem minuscule compared to the UFC-Paramount deal. But if true, it could mark a new twist in the unfolding plot.

First Dana White, now Bob Arum steps in

“So here it is,” wrote Glaser, adding, “Top Rank has landed a deal with premium cable channel Starz.” Breaking down the details of the deal, Glaser explained that the deal includes 11 boxing shows per year. Each show will pay $1 million. So that equals about $11 million total per year for Top Rank, which is just 1% of the $1.1 billion that Paramount would pay UFC per year. According to Rick Glaser, Top Rank will keep the international/foreign rights. It means they can sell the broadcast of these fights to overseas networks for extra revenue. However, the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame (NYBHOF) inductee clarified, “I don’t know yet how many years it’s for.” Nonetheless, he added, “It’s a start to regrouping for TR after losing the ESPN deal.”

But there appears to be a side effect to the move, Rick Glaser speculated. “Layoffs will be imminent,” he said. “That deal cannot sustain Top Rank’s current overhead.” Still, he felt it was good news that Starz is entering boxing, as it brings another major media player into the sport.

As always, Glaser’s post sparked a frenzy of comments.

Boxing on screen: A landscape in flux

One user inquired about the upcoming Naoya Inoue-Murodjon Akhmadaliev mega showdown scheduled for September 14. In response, Glaser suggested it could likely be featured on DAZN’s streaming service. Citing information from its sources, a February report in ‘Front Office Sports’ had already indicated that the Top Rank-ESPN partnership was entering its final phase. The promotion had reportedly reached out to several networks, including Netflix, Warner Bros., and ProBox TV.

It has been some time since boxing witnessed a shift in its viewing model. Last year, a major change occurred when Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) kicked off the deal with Amazon Prime. It followed the historic departure of Showtime, which had showcased some of the sport’s most memorable fights for 37 years.

As Rick Glaser put it, “It’s a start.” With combat sports in general reconsidering their reliance on the pay-per-view (PPV) model, boxing in particular could benefit as promotions align with networks that not only sustain the sport but also expand its reach across demographics.

So, what’s your take on the Top Rank-Starz deal?