US-based streaming service BLK Prime is reportedly aiming to make a comeback despite having only one event on the record; their 2022 show that was headlined by Terence Crawford when he defended his title against David Avanesyan. Coupled with their inactivity, BLK Prime’s prior failure to deliver subsequent events following their debut show, as well as the heavy competition they’re up against, has raised plenty of doubts surrounding the veracity of the latest news.
BLK Prime’s first and only boxing event occurred in December of 2022 and featured Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KO’s) stopping David Avanesyan (31-5-1, 19 KO’s) fight that faced some controversy after due to Crawford’s gloves having allegedly not been up to standard for a professional boxing match. Avanesyan and his team had sought to rectify the matter but no resolution was found.
While BLK Prime could not directly be linked to such a controversy, despite organizing the event, they would spark raised eyebrows after failing to produce a single event afterwards. Notably, Adrien Broner (35-5-1, 24 KO’s), who had signed to BLK Prime, had been expected to fight for the network in 2023 but BLK failed to produce a single fight after a number of blunders that went relatively unnoticed or unmentioned by mainstream boxing media.
Despite not having been implicated in their own failures, BLK Prime was the main party responsible for failing to provide Adrien Broner with the fight. Broner was first set to face Ukrainian fighter Ivan Redkach (24-8-1, 19 KO’s) but this fight collapsed after BLK Prime signed a deal with Redkach’s manager, Star Boxing head Joe DeGuardia, that would see proceeds of the fight go to DeGuardia without the approval of Team Redkach.
Following this blunder, BLK again became front and center of a debacle as they sought to replace Redkach with Henry “Hank” Lundy (32-14-1, 14 KO’s). This move backfired tremendously as Lundy had already been scheduled to face another opponent, rising American prospect Ernesto Mercado (16-0, 10 KO’s), which culminated in Lundy also being removed from a fight against Broner.
Eventually, Michael Williams Jr. (23-1, 15 KO’s) was picked as an opponent for Adrien Broner but this fight also collapsed after Williams was forced out of the match due to relatively muddled circumstances that involved the legendary Roy Jones Jr. and culminated in Williams suffering an injury. As Broner was the only notable name on BLK Prime’s roster, all of their planned shows were eventually scrapped and the American fighter eventually left the network’s fold.
Known mostly as a streaming service that produces non-sports entertainment, BLK Prime has remained out of the limelight since Broner’s departure and had been considered to have departed from boxing following their last and only event featuring Crawford facing Avanesyan in December of 2022. However, reports now emerged that they are planning a surprising comeback with plans to feature Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KO’s) and Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KO’s).
“It appears BLK Prime is doubling down on boxing,” Boxing reporter Manouk Akopyan revealed yesterday [Dec. 7]. “BLK Prime officials tell me Devin Haney’s fight in March will take place on the streaming service. In a since-deleted post, BLK Prime said Haney’s fight is on March 25. Deontay Wilder is also set to fight on BLK Prime in April.“
Prior reports had indicated Haney would return in March but the deletion of BLK Prime’s post signaling Haney’s debut for the network suggested Haney would be fighting elsewhere. However, Akopyan’s latest report signals BLK Prime is perhaps planning to corner the free agent market of boxing by reaching out to unattached fighters such as Haney and Wilder to fill up their shows.
Despite this news, BLK Prime’s plans are largely taken with a grain of salt given their inability to produce follow-up boxing events following their 2022 debut. Neither Wilder or Haney have yet confirmed the alleged
