Wasserman acquires Team Sauerland, entering boxing with focus on United Kingdom

Sports marketing and management company Wasserman, which is based in Los Angeles, have acquired Germany-based promoters Team Sauerland to form Wasserman Boxing, with a focus on promoting in the United Kingdom.

“We are delighted to welcome Kalle, Nisse and their team to Wasserman. Their expertise and history within the sport is unrivalled and we are incredibly excited about the formation of Wasserman Boxing,” Wasserman Chairman and CEO Casey Wasserman said.

“We believe Wasserman is the ideal company to not only develop what we’ve achieved at Sauerland but take it to the next level,” Kalle Sauerland said.

“I’ve personally known and worked with the Sauerland brothers for a number of years. Their hard work, commitment, combined with their experience in boxing and ability to put on spectacular events is unparalleled. I look forward to adding what we can deliver at Wasserman to create another exciting chapter for boxing, particularly in the UK,” Dean Baker, EVP and Managing Executive, Global Football and Boxing said.

Sauerland was founded in 1978 by Wilifred Sauerland, and in recent years has been run by brothers Kalle and Nisse. They’ve been a solid and reliable promotional outfit for years now, and this also means that fighters like Mairis Briedis, Chris Eubank Jr, and Filip Hrgovic will have the Wasserman machine behind them, whatever that amounts to in the end.

Eubank is the only one of those three names with a fight currently set, as he’s taking to the ring May 1 on a Matchroom Boxing card. Eubank just signed with Sauerland in January.

The UK boxing world has been pretty well taken over by a combination of Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom and Frank Warren’s Queensberry, with MTK Global also putting on shows of some note, along with the likes of Mick Hennessy still popping up here and there with a decent card.

Wasserman’s entry could mean some big changes, but they could also be totally willing to work with other promoters and more looking to piggyback in the early going, at least. They’re a big company and have plenty of experience with British sports, including their acquisition of football agency SFX back in 2006.

So we’ll see what happens, but this isn’t insignificant news. Sauerland may not have a stable of superstars to give them right off, but they’ve acquired building blocks, and you can expect Wasserman to make serious plays for bigger names when contracts expire elsewhere.