DAZN's Britton Hardin Talks Boxing, Superheroes and PPV

Britton Hardin Key Facts

Detail	Info
Role	Head of Boxing, DAZN
Hometown	Chicago
Before DAZN	Boxing promoter
Promoter innovations	Knockout bonuses, 18-by-18 ring, money rounds, overtime round
Upcoming DAZN fights	Foster vs. Navarrete (Oct. 24), Canelo vs. Mbilli (Oct. 31)

From Iron Man to ‘Baby Tyson’

Hardin grew up on Chicago’s South Side and went to Southside Prep, now Gwendolyn Brooks. Karate was his first sport. At the dojo where his father trained, most of the people with nicknames were named after superheroes. His dad was Iron Man, and the others went by names like Thor and Hulk.

After Hardin’s first sparring session, the dojo gave him a new name: “Baby Tyson.”

He didn’t know who that was, so he asked his dad. His father showed him a Mike Tyson fight at a fight party.

“I thought that he killed somebody in the very first round of the fight,” Hardin said. “But I was also like intrigued.”

Boxers as Superheroes

That moment stuck with him.

“I had an affinity and an appreciation and admiration for fighters, particularly boxers, because I equated them with superheroes,” Hardin said. “And I still do to this day.”

He still sees the sport like a comic book universe.

“I look at it as a DC comic or a Marvel comic. There’s a universe where all of these various characters exist … at some point, like all of their stories intersect,” he said. “That’s how my brain works and operates when it comes to boxing.”

Hardin once thought he would box professionally himself. He trained, cut weight and fought in smokers, and he still spars today. He calls himself, simply, “a boxing nerd.”

Building the DAZN Universe

That comic-book view shapes his job. Hardin manages DAZN’s relationships with its U.S. promoting partners, including Top Rank, PBC, Matchroom, Golden Boy and [FLAG: Sela or Salita Promotions?]. He builds the schedule around budgets, dates and fighter obligations, then ties it to the bigger story DAZN is telling.

He pointed to the 154-pound division as an example, with Sebastian Fundora defending his title while Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Josh Kelly are in the picture. Each fight sets up a three-way storyline.

Hardin is based in New York, but the job keeps him moving. He was in Chicago for a show two days before the interview and in Las Vegas the day of it.

“No week is really the same,” he said.

‘If You’re Not Innovating, You’re Dying’

Before DAZN, Hardin was a promoter. He experimented with knockout bonuses, an 18-by-18 ring, “money rounds” that paid bonuses for first- and last-round knockouts, and an overtime round to settle draws.

“If you’re not innovating, you’re dying,” he said.

He brings that same openness to influencer boxing.

“I’m not so much of a boxing purist that I can’t look at that … and say there’s value here,” Hardin said. He sees those events as a gateway: “If you like this, then let me introduce you to Bruce ‘Shu Shu’ Carrington … Ryan Garcia … Teofimo Lopez.”

“A rising tide raises all ships,” he added.

A Fan First

The fan in him hasn’t gone anywhere. Hardin watched the first Daniel Dubois vs. Fabio Wardley fight from the back of a car.

“I was in an Uber the entire time I was watching that fight,” he said. “And I’m sure that my Uber driver almost got into about six accidents.”

He thinks fans have never had it better.

“Right now is the best time to be a boxing fan because of the hard work that DAZN has done to create opportunities and deals with every major boxing promoter,” Hardin said. He called Riyadh Season’s Turki Alalshikh “a friend of the business” who “loves boxing” and “loves DAZN.” Riyadh Season is promoting Canelo Alvarez vs. Christian Mbilli on Oct. 31, and DAZN is broadcasting it.

Hardin is also looking ahead to O’Shaquie Foster vs. Emanuel Navarrete on Oct. 24. He’ll be ringside two days after his birthday, with a unified 130-pound champion on the line.

“Let’s just talk about history being on the horizon,” he said.

A Stretch Worth Taking

Hardin’s advice for anyone chasing a career like his is to find something “that makes their heart beat, that scares them a little bit.” He said “it should definitely feel like a stretch.”