Professional sport is undergoing a digital transformation, with technological developments opening up new opportunities at the intersection of industries. The Ready to Fight (RTF) platform was developed in response to a pressing need within the boxing industry. In just three years, it has grown into a global ecosystem that covers all the key aspects of interaction in the sports market.
In an exclusive interview with SiGMA News, RTF’s COO Kyrylo Korobka discussed technological solutions for sports marketing that transcend the traditional promotion of boxers. The effect of these solutions can be seen in the media campaigns of Oleksandr Usyk, the undisputed world heavyweight champion, which have reached billions of fans.
Transformation from a sports platform to an analytical service
RTF started as a social platform for boxers, but today it is a full-fledged ecosystem with analytics, a marketplace, payment solutions, and a prediction market. What drives the evolution of a platform that is changing the way we interact with boxing?
We have come a long way in the three years since launch. Some features have been added, others updated or changed. Today, RTF is a full-fledged technology company, an entire ecosystem of digital products created specifically for the boxing industry. We listen carefully to feedback from the boxing community. It is also essential that we ourselves come from boxing and live and breathe this sport.
We understand the needs of athletes, managers and fans very well, because these are our own needs.
Today, professional boxing is undergoing a period of transformation. New leagues, promoters and fighters are changing the rules of the game, creating both new opportunities and serious challenges. We strive to develop technological solutions that will help all market participants: athletes, promoters and fans.
You position RTF not only as a sports platform, but also as an innovative analytical service. What is unique about your boxing analytics system and what value does it bring to professionals and fans?
RTF has been developing the world’s first comprehensive analytical service for boxing for almost a year and a half. Initially, we created it for our own needs: to prepare Alexander Usyk for two crucial fights against Fury and then against Dubois. Now that we are 100% confident in the quality of our analytics, we are ready to share it with the world: both with coaching staff and fans.
RTF’s analytics department draws on more than 20 years of experience in professional boxing and more than 50 analytical indicators. Boxing is a highly unpredictable sport. One punch can change everything, regardless of weight class. No statistics or analytics can give a 100% guarantee: favourites sometimes lose, and fights that seemed even sometimes end in the first rounds. But our analytical tool allows you to build several fight scenarios to minimise the risk of unexpected developments and prepare optimal action plans for different fight scenarios.
The statistical accuracy of our predictions is impressive – 78.3%.
Billions of views and the development of the absolute champion’s brand, Usyk’s team actively uses the platform to prepare for fights, in particular to find sparring partners. How exactly and for whom does RTF optimise the training process?
Initially, we created our app specifically as a tool for finding sparring partners and establishing contacts with agents. There is a severe lack of such tools in the world of boxing, because without a vast network of connections, it is challenging to develop in this sport. We are already used to being able to do everything from our smartphones: order food, book hotels, call taxis. But in boxing, you have to call dozens or hundreds of people around the world to find a sparring partner who meets your criteria.
On the RTF platform, boxers and managers can register their profiles, upload data, create offers, for example, for sparring, and respond to offers from other users. A beginner boxer needs to create a profile, specify their parameters, and upload photos and videos demonstrating their skills. The main thing the platform offers a beginner is the opportunity to be noticed, and thus be invited to spar or collaborate with an agent who will help them build their career.
The platform already has experience in implementing large-scale media campaigns, particularly around Usyk’s fight with Dubois, which received billions of views. How do you approach building such campaigns, and what technologies synchronise sports, brands, and digital products?
The key difference is that we are moving away from traditional methods of attracting attention, which until recently were considered the norm in boxing: trash talk, mutual insults and artificial conflicts. Not only is this unacceptable to Oleksandr Usyk, but it also does not meet the modern expectations of the audience. His colleagues from the top three boxers in the world, Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue, have also adopted restraint and respect for their opponents as their guiding principles.
Today’s fans want something different: they are interested in the athlete’s personality, their values, their journey and how much they can relate to them. The boxer’s brand comes to the fore.
That is why we are focusing on new marketing tools, including technological solutions that help create a long-term emotional connection between the athlete, the brand and the fans. These include collaborations and partnerships with representatives of other sports, integration with the video game and media industries, and working with brands not only in the form of sponsorship, but also through social and charitable initiatives. All of this allows us to attract new audiences, strengthen the athlete’s reputation and generate sustained interest in their fights.
It is critically important to build a strong story around the fight and develop it consistently throughout the promotional period so that peak interest occurs at the beginning of the fight week – the moment when audience engagement and media coverage are at their highest.
Alexander Usyk’s final press conference in London before his victory over Dubois.
Source: Instagram.
Traditionally, the week before the fight is filled with a variety of media activities that cement interest and fuel excitement. Key events take place over five days: media days with extensive interviews with fighters for leading global sports media outlets, face-to-face meetings with opponents, official press conferences, weigh-ins and other activities. Viewers constantly follow the story surrounding the fight, which creates maximum engagement and ensures the highest level of interest immediately before the fight itself.
Potential for global expansion
In the context of the digital transformation of sport, RTF is positioned as a technology leader. What solutions do you plan to integrate in the near future, and do you see potential for expanding the platform to other sports?
We are constantly developing and testing new ideas. That is a necessary path to our goal of building a technological ecosystem around boxing. We have already created a marketplace for sports clothing and goods, fintech products, clothing production under the RTFight brand, real estate projects, tools for organising sporting events and engaging fans.
The platform already brings together boxers, coaches, managers, and fans. What steps are you taking to scale this community internationally, and how do you plan to adapt RTF to the needs of different regions?
RTF has been a global platform from the very beginning. For expansion, we are developing information products tailored to specific regions, marketing campaigns for local communities, and partnerships with influential players in the boxing industry from all over the world.
In conclusion
Today, RTF covers key aspects of sports interaction, from analytics and training organisation to marketplaces, fintech, and predictions. In an interview with SiGMA News, the company’s COO, Kyrylo Korobka, spoke about the formation of a global ecosystem around supporting boxers.
One of the company’s flagship products is an analytical service that allows you to model fight scenarios, reducing risks. The accuracy of predictions reaches 78.3%. Initially, it helped prepare Usyk for fights with Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois, and it is now available to a broad audience.
The team actively uses modern approaches to sports marketing. Instead of conflict, the emphasis is on the athlete’s values, personality and history. Large-scale media campaigns around Usyk’s fights have reached billions of fans and attracted major streaming brands.
Kyrylo also spoke about the future plans: the launch of fintech products, a sportswear marketplace, real estate projects and event organisation. RTF continues to scale up, adapting its products to the needs of different regions and confirming its status as a technology leader in the sports industry.
This article was first published in Russian on 29 October 2025.
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