From the quiet market town of Cowbridge in South Wales to the dazzling lights of Times Square and the shadowy cells of Alcatraz, iVisit Media’s rise has been anything but conventional.

What started as a small advertising agency is now orchestrating some of the most ambitious spectacles in global sport — with world championship boxing, A-list celebrities, and iconic venues at the heart of it all.

At the helm of this unlikely journey is Ed Pereira, founder and CEO of iVisit. “We began as a traditional advertising agency,” Pereira recalls. “We had digital screens, poster boards, print distribution across the UK — and then brands started asking us to run experiential campaigns. That’s where things snowballed.”

Few could have predicted just how far they would go. While iVisit retains its roots, the company has evolved into a full-scale live events powerhouse, working across sports, entertainment, and global media. Their pivot into boxing, however, was unplanned. “I was given an opportunity, and like most entrepreneurs, I didn’t say no,” Pereira says with a smile.

That opportunity came in the form of the heavyweight boxing world. Initially brought in as an ad agency for the first Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk unification bout in Riyadh, iVisit delivered what Pereira describes as “one of the strongest advertising campaigns we’ve ever done.” The result? Nearly 1.5 million pay-per-view buys in an era when piracy is rampant.

From there, doors opened quickly. The team was soon involved in the promotion and production of fights across the U.S., including the star-studded Crawford vs. Madrimov card in Los Angeles. It was there that iVisit found itself working with none other than Eminem — and navigating the world of celebrity eccentricities.

“We had pallets of Ring Magazine stacked in his eyeline, and that apparently affected his mood,” Pereira recounts. “So, we had to move six pallets manually before his performance. It’s become a running joke in the team — ‘Move those magazines!’”

By the time Anthony Joshua faced Daniel Dubois at Wembley, iVisit was no longer just behind the posters — they were running the show. The fight sold out 98,000 seats and further established the company’s credibility as a serious events operator.

Then came the event that turned heads across the globe — world championship boxing in Times Square. Not a venue known for live sport, Times Square presented monumental logistical and bureaucratic challenges. “There were 37 agencies we had to work with,” Pereira explains. “From the NYPD to Homeland Security, it was six months of negotiation and compliance before we could even begin building the ring.”

Despite going right to the wire, with agencies wanting changes to the plans up until the night before the bout, incredibly, the event went ahead — with over 350 VIPs and a crowd that swelled to 400,000, matching the numbers seen during New Year’s Eve. Mike Tyson was on commentary.

Pat McAfee hosted. And a Welsh team — many of whom had never left the UK for work — were overseeing one of the largest sporting spectacles in New York City history.

“I remember looking down 7th Avenue and they closed 7th Avenue down for us for a little bit so we could do some photos and some filming;” Pereira says.

“I looked back and there was hundreds of thousands of people, guys climbing just to get to look at the ring. And there was this whole atmosphere and I thought this can never be topped.”

But even with that once-in-a-lifetime moment behind them, iVisit is preparing for something even more audacious — a world championship bout on Alcatraz Island.

Dubbed “Battle Behind Bars”, the upcoming fight will be the first of its kind — and potentially the last. Amid recent political moves to return Alcatraz from a national park to a functioning prison, the iconic site is no longer accepting event permits. “This could very well be the final event ever held there,” Pereira says. “And we’re treating it with the respect it deserves.”

Respect is key. While Times Square was all bright lights and buzz, Alcatraz carries a different weight. “It’s a place of deep history. You walk the grounds and see the bullet holes, the remnants of escape attempts. It’s humbling,” Pereira says. “We’re not just throwing a party — we’re creating a historic moment.”

The event, which will be broadcast globally via ESPN and Amazon, will be a delicate balancing act between spectacle and preservation. Alcatraz lacks power, water, or infrastructure, meaning every cable, beam, and bottle must be brought in — and taken out — by boat. Celebrities will arrive by water taxi, with logistics drawing in Secret Service discussions and even the bomb squad.

“It’s a nightmare to plan, but a dream to deliver,” Pereira admits. “The island is now a wildlife haven too, so we’re working closely with conservationists. It’s a privilege, but a responsibility.”

Beyond the spectacle, the symbolism runs deep. Alcatraz once hosted boxing matches during its time as an army fort — before it became the infamous prison that housed Al Capone. Now, nearly a century later, the sport is returning in grand fashion. “We’re not just making history,” Pereira says. “We’re revisiting it.”

For iVisit Media, what began as a humble Welsh media agency is now part of a global conversation — at the intersection of sport, culture, and legacy.

From Eminem to Al Capone, Times Square to Alcatraz, this is the story of how one Welsh company found itself punching far above its weight — and rewriting the rules of modern entertainment along the way.

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