UKTV has secured the exclusive rights to the comeback fight of former world boxing champion David Haye.
The bout will be shown live on the network’s free-to-air channel Dave on Saturday 16 January at 21:00.
Haye’s comeback fight will be his first since defeating Dereck Chisora at Upton Park over three years ago and sees Haye take on a top 10 WBA ranked heavyweight in De Mori, who boasts a record of 30 wins (26 KOs), and only one defeat, since turning pro in 2004.
In addition to the live match, Dave is also showing a special half-hour preview show Haye v De Mori: The Countdown, the night before, featuring the build up to the fight, the story of the preparation and the reason why Haye wants to stage a comeback.
UKTV director of commissioning Richard Watsham said: “We are quickly establishing UKTV as a network able to handle attention-grabbing live events, from the Python’s last ever performance – Monty Python Live (Mostly) for Gold through Really’s Halloween spectacular Most Haunted Live to Dave’s ratings success, the Red Bull Soapbox Race. Our ambition continues to grow in terms of the variety and quality of our programming and appointment to view TV remains at the top of our wish list.”
Last year Dave retained its place as the number one non-PSB channel in the UK and grew audiences for the fourth consecutive year.