Matchroom Sport is a British multinational sports promotions company founded by Barry Hearn. Founded in 1982, the company was initially involved in snooker and boxing, but as of 2026, Matchroom runs events and competitions across multiple sports including pool, bowling, golf, fishing, darts, table tennis, poker and gymnastics. The company is based in Brentwood, Essex. Matchroom has had broadcasting agreements in the United Kingdom with DAZN, Sky Sports, ITV, and the BBC. History Matchroom formed in 1982 concentrating on snooker management with the likes of Steve Davis, Dennis Taylor, and Jimmy White under contract. It sponsored two non-ranking tournaments, the Matchroom Professional Championship (1986–1988, restricted to its contracted players) and Matchroom League (1987–1994). A novelty song called "Snooker Loopy" by "Chas & Dave and The Matchroom Mob" reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart in 1986, with five Matchroom players featured on backup vocals and in the video.
Hearn's first foray into boxing promotion was the Frank Bruno vs. Joe Bugner heavyweight clash in 1987 in front of 35,000 people at White Hart Lane.
The range of sports increased in 1994 with the Mosconi Cup, an event which sees teams from Europe and the United States compete in a 9-ball pool tournament. It has become a major event on the professional pool calendar.
Over the years, Matchroom's portfolio under Hearn grew, taking a majority stake in the Professional Darts Corporation in 2001, helping oversee a growth in the sport. Matchroom Sport also promote the World Cup of Pool, a national team event, and the World Pool Masters, an annual nine-ball event.
In 2002, the company formed PGA EuroPro Tour, the UK's leading developmental golf tour, in association with the PGA. Later, in the 2000s, came ten pin bowling's Weber Cup. In 2009, Barry Hearn became the majority shareholder in World Snooker Tour Ltd. Since then the sport has grown, with prize money increased and new events introduced worldwide.
More recently, Matchroom has launched the World Championship of Ping Pong,Jim White, "Darts king Barry Hearn turns his global sights to table tennis", The Daily Telegraph, 4 January 2013. Superstars of Gymnastics, British Basketball All-Stars, and British Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship.
In May 2018, Matchroom Boxing agreed five-year deal with DAZN reportedly worth £740 million to promote 16 fights in the US on the channel. In June 2021, both firms extended its agreement.
In April 2021, Barry Hearn stepped down as chairman with his son Eddie taking over the role. Barry will continue as president in an advisory role, while Eddie takes over as head of the PGA EuroPro tour, alongside overseeing Matchroom's wider operations and continuing to head the boxing division.
In February 2026, Matchroom Boxing signed a new five-year deal with DAZN in the United States and the United Kingdom, extending their partnership through 2031, and also partnered with Foxtel in Australia to stream its events on Kayo Sports. As part of the deal. DAZN will broadcast 30 Matchroom events a year.
In May 2026, Matchroom announced the sale of minority equity stake of 15% to Bruin Capital, an American private equity firm, in a transaction that valued the company at more than £1 billion. As part of the deal, the Hearn family will retain control of the company with Bruin joining the board to advise on the company's growth in North America.
Boxing As of 2023, boxing accounted for $235 million of Matchroom's annual sales revenue. A rising list of signed boxing stars and steady events aided its gaining popularity and viewership growth, with Hearn citing the streaming model with DAZN as a major success factor for the brand.
In 2024, Hearn expressed an interest in exploring a 9pm main event start time for Matchroom fights.
In February 2025, Hearn announced a partnership between Matchroom and event management vendor Victory Live to provide enhanced ticketing distribution and fan experiences.
Current stable
BoxerNationalityWeightRecordWorld TitlesMurodjon Akhmadaliev UzbekSuper-bantamweight14-2 (11 KOs)Dave Allen EnglishHeavyweight24-8-2 (19 KOs)Leo Atang EnglishHeavyweight3-0 (3 KOs)Tiah-Mai Ayton EnglishBantamweight4-0 (4 KOs)Zelfa Barrett EnglishSuper-featherweight34-3 (18 KOs)Alexis Barriere CanadianHeavyweight12-1 (10 KOs)Reece Bellotti EnglishSuper-featherweight20-7 (15 KOs)Taylor Bevan WelshSuper-middleweight7-0 (7 KOs)Dmitry Bivol RussianLight-heavyweight24-1 (12 KOs)Junaid Bostan EnglishSuper-welterweight10-1-1 (8 KOs)Aaron Bowen EnglishMiddleweight7-1 (5 KOs)Pat Brown EnglishCruiserweight5-0 (5 KOs)Leli Buttigieg EnglishMiddleweight11-0 (3 KO)Marc Castro AmericanLightweight13-1 (8 KOs)Jack Catterall EnglishSuper-lightweight32-2 (14 KOs)Cheavon Clarke EnglishCruiserweight11-2 (8 KOs)Khalil Coe AmericanLight-heavyweight10-1-1 (8 KOs)Kieron Conway EnglishMiddleweight23-4-1 (7 KOs)Joe Cordina WelshSuper-featherweight19-1 (9 KOs)Maisey Rose Courtney EnglishFlyweight9-1 (0 KOs)Lewis Crocker Northern IrishWelterweight22-0 (11 KOs)William Crolla EnglishSuper-welterweight9-1 (7 KOs)Andy Cruz CubanLightweight6-0 (3 KOs)Gary Cully IrishLightweight18-2 (10 KOs)Ishmael Davis EnglishSuper-welterweight15-3 (6 KOs)Nishant Dev IndianSuper-welterweight5-0 (3 KOs)Mark Dickinson EnglishSuper-middleweight8-2 (2 KOs)Rhiannon Dixon EnglishLightweight10-1 (1 KO)Paddy Donovan IrishWelterweight14-2 (11 KOs)Jaron Ennis AmericanSuper-welterweight35-0 (31 KOs)Beatriz Ferreira BrazilianLightweight8-1 (2 KOs)Aqib Fiaz EnglishSuper-featherweight14-1 (2 KOs)Johnny Fisher EnglishHeavyweight14-1 (12 KOs)Raymond Ford AmericanSuper-featherweight18-1-1 (8 KOs)Shakhram Giyasov UzbekWelterweight17-0 (10 KOs)Jalil Hackett AmericanWelterweight11-1 (9 KOs)John Hedges EnglishCruiserweight12-0 (3 KOs)Eduardo Hernandez MexicanSuper-featherweight37-2 (32 KOs)Richardson Hitchins AmericanSuper-lightweight20-0 (8 KOs)Justis Huni AustralianHeavyweight12-1 (7 KOs)Omari Jones AmericanSuper-welterweight4-0 (4 KOs)Anthony Joshua EnglishHeavyweight29-4 (26 KOs)George Kambosos Jr AustralianSuper-lightweight22-4 (10 KOs)Josh Kelly EnglishSuper-welterweight17-1-1 (9 KOs)George Liddard EnglishMiddleweight13-0 (8 KOs)Adam Maca AlbanianSuper-bantamweight4-0 (4 KOs)Israil Madrimov UzbekSuper-welterweight10-2-1 (7 KOs)Shabaz Masoud EnglishSuper-bantamweight15-0 (4 KOs)Molly McCann EnglishSuper-bantamweight4-0 (1 KO)Pat McCormack EnglishWelterweight8-1 (6 KOs)Joe McGrail EnglishFeatherweight12-0 (5 KOs)Peter McGrail EnglishFeatherweight12-2 (6 KOs)Harley Mederos AmericanLightweight9-0 (8 KOs)Christian Medina MexicanBantamweight26-4 (19 KOs)Ernesto Mercado AmericanSuper-lightweight18-0 (17 KOs)Vito Mielnicki Jr. AmericanMiddleweight23-1 (13 KOs)Connor Mitchell EnglishFeatherweight1-0 (1 KO)Zaquin Moses AmericanSuper-featherweight5-0 (3 KOs)Skye Nicolson AustralianSuper-bantamweight15-1 (3 KOs)Eduardo Nunez MexicanSuper-featherweight29-1 (27 KOs)Elif Nur Turhan Turkish Lightweight12-0 (8 KOs)Jai Opetaia AustralianCruiserweight29-0 (23 KOs)William Ortiz Puerto RicanSuper-lightweight9-0 (5 KOs)Diego Pacheco AmericanSuper-middleweight25-0 (18 KOs)Josh Padley EnglishLightweight17-1 (5 KOs)Lenier Pero CubanHeavyweight13-0 (8 KOs)Stephanie Pineiro Puerto RicanWelterweight10-0 (3 KOs)Hopey Price EnglishFeatherweight12-0 (5 KOs)Craig Richards EnglishLight-heavyweight20-4-1 (13 KOs)Jesse Rodriguez AmericanSuper-flyweight23-0 (16 KOs)Leonardo Rubalcava AmericanSuper-lightweight9-1-1 (3 KOs)Sandy Ryan EnglishWelterweight8-3-1 (3 KOs)Shannon Ryan EnglishSuper-flyweight10-1 (1 KO)Jimmy Sains EnglishMiddleweight11-0 (10 KOs)Brandon Scott EnglishFeatherweight8-0 (1 KO)Callum Smith EnglishLight-heavyweight31-2 (22 KOs)Dalton Smith EnglishSuper-lightweight19-0 (14 KOs)Liam Smith EnglishMiddleweight33-5-1 (20 KOs)Shakur Stevenson AmericanLightweight24-0 (11 KOs)Ibraheem Sulaimaan EnglishSuper-featherweight10-0 (5 KOs)Katie Taylor IrishSuper-lightweight25-1 (6 KOs)Teremoana Teremoana AustralianHeavyweight9-0 (9 KOs)Jordan Thompson EnglishCruiserweight15-2 (12 KOs)Conner Tudsbury EnglishLight-heavyweight3-0 (2 KOs)Hamza Uddin EnglishFlyweight6-0 (3 KOs)Antonio Vargas AmericanBantamweight19-1-1 (11 KOs)Giorgio Visioli EnglishSuper-featherweight10-0 (6 KOs)Cameron Vuong EnglishLightweight9-0-1 (4 KOs)Conah Walker EnglishWelterweight17-3-1 (8 KOs)Conor Wallace IrishLight-heavyweight16-1 (11 KOs)Josh Warrington EnglishSuper-featherweight32-4-1 (8 KOs)Ben Whittaker EnglishLight-heavyweight10-0-1 (7 KOs)Austin Williams AmericanMiddleweight19-1 (13 KOs)Galal Yafai EnglishFlyweight9-1 (7 KOs)
References
External links Matchroom Sport homepage