LONDON – “The future starts now,” said Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn. “This represents our determination to deliver the very best events, with the best fighters, across the world.”
Hearn was announcing, to guests at an upmarket west London venue, that his company was rebranding and that Matchroom Boxing, established by his father Barry in 1987, has a remastered identity that will help drive the brand forward.
“In what is becoming an ever increasingly competitive market, as all major brands must do, we have to move forward with the times to appeal to fresh audiences whilst enhancing our product for our current fanbase both with the commitment of delivering unmissable events, steered by our elite stable of world champions and world-class fighters.”
Over four decades, Matchroom has promoted the likes of Frank Bruno, Lennox Lewis, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, and Anthony Joshua, and more recently has worked with Katie Taylor, Dmitry Bivol, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Jaron Ennis, and Shakur Stevenson, promoting in the UK, USA, Mexico, Australia, Japan, and the Middle East.
The company has spent 12 months formulating the brand following discussions and feedback from fighters, staff and hundreds of fans.
It is also part of a collaboration with award-winning data driven sports marketing agency Two Circles, and “draws inspiration in duality from a brand that is both rooted in tradition and ready for the future with bold design aimed at resonating with a digital-first audience”
George Foster, Managing Director, EMEA, at Two Circles, said: “Partnering with Matchroom Boxing was a natural alignment for us. With 12 years of expertise in understanding sports fans better than anyone, Two Circles was uniquely positioned to help bring Matchroom’s brand vision to life. By taking a data-led approach, we first evaluated how boxing fans engage with them and how it feels to be in the Matchroom Boxing family, before co-creating a new vision and set of values for the future.
“This gave our creative teams everything they needed to build a bold, dynamic and future-ready brand identity. We can't wait to see how this new brand identity helps Matchroom Boxing amplify their impact in the sports world.”
Hearn added: “Matchroom Boxing has been at the forefront of the most iconic nights in the modern history of the sport and this reimagined brand identity represents our move into a new frontier.”
Matchroom chief executive Frank Smith said: “Matchroom Boxing isn’t just keeping up with the evolution of the sport – we’re leading it. Our remastered identity is a reflection of our core values, our future, and our promise to our fighters and fans to keep pushing the boundaries of what this incredible sport can be.”
While the new brand image will be commonplace from Tuesday, the first fight rollouts for the new logo and brand identity will be in Manchester on Saturday for Jack Catterall’s bout with Harlem Eubank and in Texas on July 19 for the junior-bantamweight unification clash between the revered Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and the South African Phumelele Cafu.
At Tuesday evening’s unveiling of the new company image were three generations of Matchroom heavyweights – Bruno, Joshua and Leo Atang.
