Ahead of DAZN’s U.S. launch, the live and on- demand sports streaming platform announced it will make Amir Khan vs. Samuel Vargas available for free on Facebook and Twitter. The Matchroom Boxing fight card will air live on Saturday, Sept. 8 from Arena Birmingham in the U.K. with the main event beginning at approximately 5 p.m. ET.
The fights will appear on the @DAZNUSA Facebook page and via the @DAZN_USA Twitter handle, and fans won’t need to be signed up for DAZN to watch the fight.
“As part of our joint venture with Matchroom Boxing, we held the rights to Khan vs. Vargas but DAZN doesn’t go live in the U.S. until Sept. 10. We fully recognize Khan’s broad appeal and will work with Facebook and Twitter to give U.S. fight fans an opportunity to see his fight for free,” said Joseph Markowski, DAZN SVP, North America. “Cheers! This one is on us.”
Former unified light welterweight world champion Khan (32-4, 20 KOs), back in action following his knockout of Phil Lo Greco in just 39 seconds, will take on Colombian-Canadian contender Samuel Vargas (29-3-2, 14 KOs) in the 12-round welterweight main event.
“One of my aims this year was to be as active as possible, so I’m very happy to get back in the ring again so soon against Samuel Vargas,” said Khan when the fight was announced in June. “Vargas is a tough and well-schooled fighter who has shared the ring with some top welterweights, including Danny Garcia and Errol Spence Jr.”
The Facebook and Twitter streams will begin at approximately 3 p.m. ET, featuring the Jason Welborn vs. Tommy Langford rematch following Welborn’s snatching of the British middleweight title from Langford via split decision in May, as well as the junior middleweight tilt Ryan Kelly vs. Kelcie Ball.
“Amir Khan is back and although there is a lot of talk about massive fights on the horizon he must come through this test against Vargas in style. With DAZN launching later this month, we wanted to give Amir the biggest audience possible so U.S. fans can see how sharp and determined he looks,” said Eddie Hearn, Matchroom President. “Enjoy this card on us and then come back to check out DAZN’s top-notch platform and live sports production starting Sept. 22, when the heavyweight champion of the world Anthony Joshua defends his belts against Alexander Povetkin.”
DAZN’s stacked fall lineup of exclusive fights features Anthony Joshua vs. Alexander Povetkin on Sept. 22, Bellator 206 on Sept. 29, Jessie Vargas vs. Thomas Dulorme on Oct. 6, Billy Joe Saunders vs. Demetrius Andrade on Oct. 20, among many others. Fans can sign up for DAZN by registering
at DAZN.com or by downloading the DAZN app on a wide range of connected devices, including smart TVs, PCs, smartphones, tablets and game consoles, when the service goes live on Sept. 10.