Boxing Wire

Tag: Eddie Hearn

  • Dana White: Boxing Is ‘Way More Broken’ Than I Thought

    Dana White: Boxing Is ‘Way More Broken’ Than I Thought

    Dana White has spent six months running a boxing promotion and his verdict on the sport he entered is blunt: it is far more broken than he anticipated.

    Appearing on ESPN’s First Take on Friday alongside newly signed Zuffa Boxing fighter Conor Benn, White delivered a pointed critique of how traditional boxing promoters operate, arguing the industry is structurally designed to extract money rather than build lasting careers or a sustainable product.

    “This sport is way more broken than I even thought it was,” White said. “Now that I’m involved, how rinky dink the sport really is.”

    His central complaint was volume, or the lack of it. White argued that boxing promoters run their rosters like distressed assets, staging infrequent events and disappearing between them rather than developing fighters into genuine stars.

    “Every time you watch a boxing match, it’s like a going out of business sale. They’re trying to grab up as much money as they can and then they run away and hide for two years, then they pop up again and put on another fight,” White said. “I’ve already done more fights this year, my first year, than all the promoters combined.”

    He also pushed back on the industry tendency to blame fighters for being uncommercial, flipping responsibility onto the promoters themselves.

    “If you’re not putting on fights, how the hell are you making money? It doesn’t make any sense. I heard some of the other promoters when I started to sign some of the guys, they were like, ‘We could never make any money with him anyway.’ Well, that’s not his job. That’s your job. My job is to figure out how to pay him and pay me. His job is to be a badass,” White said.

    White also stated his five-year goal publicly for the first time, framing it as a return to boxing’s cultural peak when world champions were household names and major fights drew global audiences.

    “When your father was fighting, everybody all over the world knew who the champion was. When big fights happened anywhere in the world, everybody watched. Boxing was big in America back then. That is my goal: to make it that way again over the next five years,” White said, gesturing to Benn, the son of British boxing legend Nigel Benn.

    Stephen A. Smith, who has long criticized boxing’s promotional structure on the same platform, backed White’s diagnosis on air. “The promoters have ruined it, not the fighters. And now we’ve got somebody that’s gonna make sure we’re getting the fights we want to see,” Smith said.

  • Details on Conor Benn’s 5-Fight Deal with Zuffa Boxing

    Details on Conor Benn’s 5-Fight Deal with Zuffa Boxing

    Conor Benn Re-Signs with Zuffa Boxing

    Conor Benn is staying with Zuffa Boxing. Dana White’s promotion announced Friday that Benn has signed a five-fight deal covering the next two and a half years, with the news breaking as both men sat down with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take live from Las Vegas.

    The deal ends a week of speculation after Benn’s April 11 unanimous decision over Regis Prograis at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That fight, the co-feature to Tyson Fury’s Netflix comeback against Arslanbek Makhmudov, was a one-off. Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) emerged from it a free agent with every major promoter circling.

    He picked Zuffa. And his reasoning on First Take pointed straight at the parent company’s track record.

    “You look at what they’ve done with UFC. Look what they’ve done with WWE. They plan on taking over and we all share the same vision,” Benn said. “It’s a different audience, a massive platform, and something I’m really excited about. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I’ve made the right decision and it feels right in my heart.”

    Team Approach and Long-Term Vision

    Benn, who split with long-time promoter Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing earlier this year, framed the signing as a collective decision rather than a solo business move.

    “There’s no ‘I’ in team. I don’t do things on my own, I do things with my team. We all share the same vision; that’s a must,” Benn said. “We’ve got a long-term plan and no doubt we’ll execute it. My job is to stay in the gym, give 100% in training, and let the team allow me to fully focus on being the best fighter I can be and deliver entertainment to the public.”

    Five fights across 30 months works out to roughly one appearance every six months, a cadence consistent with Zuffa’s repeated emphasis on keeping its boxers active rather than letting them disappear between paydays.

    White’s Global Platform Pitch

    White made clear the selling point for Zuffa’s roster is distribution as much as money. TKO’s pending Warner Bros. merger is projected to add 200 million homes. The recently announced Sky deal expands European reach, and Zuffa is already airing in more than 90 countries less than six months into its boxing operation.

    “When you’re a professional fighter, obviously making as much money as you can during your short window of opportunity is important, but you want as many people around the world to see the things that you’ve done, too,” White said. “That’s just as important as the money.”

    Benn now joins a growing Zuffa Boxing roster that already includes Richardson Hitchins and Edgar Berlanga on multi-fight deals. He remains the WBC mandatory challenger at welterweight, with Ryan Garcia the clear target for his next outing.

  • Eddie Hearn Thinks The Real Fury-Netflix Number Is Being Hidden

    Eddie Hearn Thinks The Real Fury-Netflix Number Is Being Hidden

    Eddie Hearn believes Netflix broke from its usual pattern by releasing only a UK viewership figure for the Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 11, and he thinks the reason is straightforward.

    Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, the Matchroom chairman noted that Netflix has consistently released global figures for its boxing events, and that the decision to release a UK-only figure of 5 million viewers suggests the worldwide total was not worth publicizing.

    “I’ve never seen it announced like that before. Every other show’s given a global number,” Hearn said. “The bulk of that viewership would be in the UK, but you’d have to think the number was less than 10 million, certainly, and it may even be less than seven or eight. Just strange that a UK number was given rather than a global number.”

    The event also featured Conor Benn vs. Regis Prograis and Shakur Stevenson vs. Teofimo Lopez on the undercard, giving the card additional star power beyond Fury’s return fight. Despite that, the viewership picture appears to have fallen short of the benchmarks Netflix has previously seen from its boxing portfolio, which has included major numbers for Jake Paul events and the first Fury vs. Usyk fight.

    The figures carry implications beyond the Makhmudov fight itself. Netflix is expected to broadcast the Anthony Joshua vs. Fury fight later this year, and a declining trend in Fury’s standalone drawing power could affect the platform’s approach to that deal. A sub-10 million global number for Fury’s return would represent a meaningful step back from the numbers the platform has used to justify its investment in boxing.

  • Eddie Hearn Rips Zuffa Boxing: ‘No Strategy,’ Benn Deal ‘Worst Business’

    Eddie Hearn Rips Zuffa Boxing: ‘No Strategy,’ Benn Deal ‘Worst Business’

    Eddie Hearn has delivered his sharpest take yet of Zuffa Boxing, telling The Ariel Helwani Show that five months into Dana White’s boxing venture, the promotion has produced nothing worth pointing to and may have already committed one of the worst deals in recent boxing history.

    “These guys are very powerful and smart, but I actually don’t think they know what they’re doing,” Hearn said. “The more I look at it, I’m not sure there even is a strategy. It’s kind of like ‘sign who you can sign and then go from there.’”

    The centerpiece of Hearn’s criticism was the reported Conor Benn deal. According to reports, Zuffa paid $15 million for Benn’s 10-round fight against Regis Prograis on the Fury-Makhmudov Netflix card, with no future options attached. Matchroom is demanding full financial disclosure to confirm the figure, but Hearn was unsparing in his assessment if the number is accurate.

    “If you want to get sucked into the fact that someone would pay $15 million for a 10-round fight where it’s probably worth a million dollars, and have no future options, no deal in place, you are probably the biggest idiot on the planet,” he said. He called it potentially “one of the worst pieces of business” in boxing and expressed disbelief that no senior Zuffa executives attended the fight or visited the changing room despite the scale of the investment. “You must have some serious money if you’re just willing to spunk 15 million up the wall in a 10-round fight and not even send anybody to try and secure that deal,” Hearn said.

    Beyond the Benn situation, Hearn challenged anyone to name a genuinely impressive Zuffa show since the promotion launched. He pointed to small crowds, inconsistent scheduling, and underwhelming matchups as evidence that the execution has not matched the ambition. He also questioned the status of the boxing league concept Zuffa initially promoted, noting that governing bodies are already calling mandatories that complicate the model. While acknowledging that the roster includes legitimate names like Richardson Hitchins and Edgar Berlanga, Hearn argued the shows themselves have not reflected the promotional firepower behind them.

    “If I did those shows I would get screamed out of town by five fans,” he said. “‘What is this? There’s 150 people here in this room. Who are these people? What are these fights?’”

  • Hearn: Anthony Joshua Refused Ring Stunt, Won’t Announce Fight ‘That’s Not Done’

    Hearn: Anthony Joshua Refused Ring Stunt, Won’t Announce Fight ‘That’s Not Done’

    Anthony Joshua created a moment of tension at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday when he declined to enter the ring, and Eddie Hearn has now explained exactly why. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, the Matchroom chairman revealed that Joshua deliberately decided not to make a public announcement about a fight he does not yet consider finalized.

    “I asked AJ if he wanted to get in the ring. He said to me, ‘I don’t want to get in the ring and announce a fight that’s not done. I feel like that’s not being fair and honest with the British public. What if it doesn’t happen? How many times have we done this before?’” Hearn said.

    The standoff played out inside the stadium, with Turki Alalshikh’s team calling Joshua out from the ring while he remained seated in the crowd. Hearn told the organizers Joshua would not be getting in the ring, and was informed that Tyson Fury might say something over the rope instead.

    On the contractual side, Hearn confirmed that a contract arrived at the end of last week and is currently being reviewed by both Joshua’s personal legal team and Matchroom’s lawyers. He expects a red-lined version to be returned to the Saudi side within 24 to 48 hours. Despite that progress, Hearn was careful to draw a clear line between intention and completion. “There’s a difference between ‘we’re all moving forward to finalize the fight’ and a fight being done and signed,” he said. “It is absolutely our intention to try and close this deal, but it’s not done and it’s not signed. We have been here on a number of occasions before where the fight has fallen through.” He described the remaining issues as nothing major but stressed that Joshua will not rush the process for the sake of optics.

    Hearn framed Joshua’s caution as appropriate given the scale of what is being negotiated. “We’re fully committed to making this fight and I fully expect this fight to happen, but it will happen at our speed, in the right way,” he said. “In due time, AJ will be there to collect his rent.” He called the proposed Joshua vs. Fury matchup the biggest fight in the history of British boxing and one of the biggest fights of all time, arguing it deserves to be handled accordingly rather than rushed into a premature announcement.

    The proposed deal structure calls for a July warmup fight for Joshua followed by the Fury bout in November. Joshua has not fought since a car crash earlier this year disrupted his original timeline, and Hearn said the warmup is essential given what Joshua has been through physically in the lead-up to what would be the defining fight of his career.

  • Eddie Hearn Accepts Dana White Boxing Fight: “I’m All Over It”

    Eddie Hearn Accepts Dana White Boxing Fight: “I’m All Over It”

    Eddie Hearn has officially accepted Dana White’s challenge to a boxing match, telling The Ariel Helwani Show he’s started training, visualizing his ring walk, and is very motivated by the payday.

    “He called me out on the Piers Morgan show. I explained that I’m pretty useless. I’ve seen him spar; he looks quite decent,” Hearn said. “So I’ve gotten into a little bit of training. I’ve started to visualize my ring walk music. And I’ve started to get very excited by the money.”

    Turki Alalshikh has reportedly asked both men if they’d do it, and Misfits Boxing has also made an offer. Hearn said the financial projections have him fully committed.

    “Stick Me In, Find Me a Pair of Shorts”

    Hearn didn’t hold back when discussing White’s repeated provocations. The ongoing feud between the two has escalated from business trash talk to a genuine fight challenge, and Hearn says he’s done deflecting.

    “He keeps calling me a p***y. But I’m like, well, let’s see if I’m a p***y,” Hearn said. “Would this be gigantic? We would make 30 million each. So I’m all over it. Stick me in, put my name down, find me a pair of shorts, and I’ll travel. He called me out. I accept.”

    The Matchroom chairman gave a characteristically self-aware assessment of his chances. He acknowledged being “very limited” as a fighter but said his size could be an advantage.

    “I’m a big lump and I think I’ll knock him out,” Hearn said. “But also, if I get knocked out and I make $30 million, it’s not the saddest day in the world and people would find it quite amusing.”

    No date, venue, or formal promotion has been attached to the potential bout. Hearn’s acceptance puts the ball squarely in White’s court to formalize the offer through their already heated rivalry.

  • Hearn on Rico vs. Usyk: “Deluded” but Don’t Count Him Out

    Hearn on Rico vs. Usyk: “Deluded” but Don’t Count Him Out

    Eddie Hearn thinks Rico Verhoeven needs to be “deluded” to believe he can beat Oleksandr Usyk at the Pyramids of Giza on May 23, but he’s not ruling it out entirely. Speaking with talkSPORT Boxing at the Glory in Giza press event in Egypt, the Matchroom promoter gave a blunt but respectful assessment of Rico’s chances.

    “He’s a big character, he’s a big lump, and he can really punch,” Hearn said. “He’s got hands like shovels. But it’s like you’ve got to be deluded to think you can pull this off.”

    Tom Aspinall Vouches for Rico’s Power

    Hearn revealed that UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, who trains regularly with Verhoeven, gave him a private assessment of the kickboxing star’s abilities.

    “When I spoke to Tom Aspinall, he trains with Rico a lot and he’s like, ‘Mate, let me tell you something. I’m not saying he has the skills to compete with Usyk, but my god, can he punch, and he’s strong as an ox,’” Hearn said. “He’s got Peter Fury in the corner, he’s got a lot of good brains around him.”

    Aspinall’s endorsement carries weight given that he operates across both combat sports worlds. The UFC champion’s testimony focused on raw physical attributes rather than technical boxing ability, which aligns with the general view that Rico’s path to victory runs through his size and power advantage rather than skill.

    The Ngannou Precedent

    Hearn acknowledged his own track record of underestimating crossover fighters. He pointed to the Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury fight as a cautionary example.

    “I didn’t think Francis Ngannou had a chance against Tyson Fury, and I thought he beat him in that fight,” Hearn said. “It’s an unconventional style that could cause some problems to the guy that’s mastered all styles in Alexander Usyk.”

    That comparison matters. Ngannou, with no professional boxing background, dropped Fury and pushed him to a contested split decision. Rico brings significantly more striking experience than Ngannou did, plus the advantage of training under Peter Fury, who has worked with heavyweight champions.

    A Pyramid to Climb

    Despite leaving the door open, Hearn’s overall verdict was clear.

    “He’s got a pyramid to climb on May the 23rd and I’m not sure he can do it,” Hearn said. “But in this division, it’s probably the only division where something crazy could happen, because these are big guys that can really punch.”

    Hearn also praised the scale of the event itself, calling it “vision on another level as a spectacle” after seeing the production specifications for the Pyramids venue. The card also features Hamzah Sheeraz in a world title fight and Jack Catterall vs. Shakhram Giyasov.

    Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven: Glory in Giza takes place on May 23, 2026 at the Pyramids of Giza. The event streams on DAZN.

  • Eddie Hearn Reveals AJ vs. Fury Two-Fight Deal, Wilder Excluded

    Eddie Hearn Reveals AJ vs. Fury Two-Fight Deal, Wilder Excluded

    Eddie Hearn has laid out the specifics of the Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury deal for the first time, confirming a two-fight structure that deliberately excludes Deontay Wilder as Joshua’s warmup opponent.

    Speaking with talkSPORT Boxing at the Glory in Giza press event in Egypt, Hearn said the offer on the table calls for Joshua to fight in July before facing Fury later in the year.

    “The deal that we’ve been offered, which is to fight in July and then fight Tyson Fury in November, is not with Deontay Wilder in mind,” Hearn said. “I think the powers that be don’t really want us to be in that type of fight. We’re up for it. AJ’s also said to me, ‘I will fight Wilder and I will fight Fury back to back.’ But July in the UK looks likely.”

    Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season Driving the Offer

    Hearn identified the source of the deal as Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season, the Saudi-backed entity that has bankrolled several of boxing’s biggest events over the past two years.

    “This is an offer that’s been made by Turki and Riyadh Season, wherever that fight could be, in July, and then fight Tyson Fury,” Hearn said. “That’s the deal that’s been proposed to us at the moment, and that looks like the route that we will take.”

    Hearn Would Pick Wilder, But It’s Not His Call

    The Matchroom promoter was candid about the tension between what he’d do as a promoter and what the deal structure allows. He openly acknowledged that Wilder would be his first choice for a July warmup if he were running the show.

    “If we were promoting the event, that’s exactly what I’d be doing, Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury,” Hearn said. “But this is a deal put to us with Fury against AJ as the mountaintop of that deal. There’ll be a lot of people that won’t want to go into a fight that they feel is risky and put that fight at jeopardy.”

    He added: “We have no problem fighting Wilder. I don’t think it will be Wilder under the basis of this deal, but we’ll have to see.”

    Netflix Jumped the Gun

    Hearn also directly contradicted Netflix’s social media announcement that the Joshua vs. Fury fight is confirmed.

    “Netflix put a tweet out saying it’s on. It’s not on,” Hearn said. “AJ didn’t want to put himself in a position and almost tell the British public that after all these years we’ve got it, it’s on, because it’s not. Now, will it be on? I truly believe so. And my instruction from Anthony Joshua is: make the fight.”

    Joshua attended the Fury vs. Makhmudov fight on Saturday but refused to enter the ring for a premature announcement. Hearn said Joshua asked him directly whether the deal was done and declined to go out when told it wasn’t.

    The Power Has Shifted

    Hearn framed the current negotiation dynamic as a complete reversal from years past, when Fury held the belts and demanded 60-40 splits.

    “It was the first time Fury’s kind of come out and gone, ‘I want you. You’re the only fight I want next,’” Hearn said. “And it was good to hear, and AJ’s the landlord.”

    Hearn also referenced Joshua’s personal struggles without going into specifics, asking fans for patience as the timeline plays out.

    “Sometimes people are quick to forget that,” Hearn said. “The work that he’s put in to even get himself to this position has been so admirable. It’s been incredible. I think it’s great just having him around after what’s happened. He’s ready and he’s motivated, but we’ve got to do it right.”

  • Conor Benn Targets Ryan Garcia for WBC Title

    Conor Benn Targets Ryan Garcia for WBC Title

    Conor Benn is a free agent with one name on his lips: Ryan Garcia.

    Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) defeated former two-time junior welterweight champion Regis Prograis (30-4, 24 KOs) by unanimous decision on Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. All three judges scored the bout 98-92 in Benn’s favor in a 10-round catchweight contest at 150 pounds.

    The fight was Benn’s first under the Zuffa Boxing banner after his split from Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing earlier this year. He completed a one-fight deal reportedly worth upwards of $10 million and is now free to negotiate with any promoter, though Zuffa is expected to be the frontrunner moving forward.

    Benn Calls for September Showdown

    Benn wasted no time calling out WBC welterweight champion Garcia after the fight. “Garcia, I want my belt! Keep my belt warm,” Benn said. “September. Let’s go. Any day of the week. Twice on Sundays. 10 rounds, easy. Garcia, you’re next.”

    Garcia, who won the WBC title with a decision over Mario Barrios in February, responded on social media the same night. “I’m down. Garcia vs. Benn. Let’s do it!” Garcia wrote.

    The 29-year-old Benn plans to return to 147 pounds for the fight after competing above the welterweight limit in his last three bouts, including two middleweight fights against Chris Eubank Jr. He was back in the gym by Monday morning, posting a treadmill video with visible swelling around both eyes from accidental head clashes during the Prograis fight. He indicated he would be ready to fight by July or August.

    Prograis Retires After the Loss

    Prograis, 37, announced his retirement in an interview with Ring Magazine after the fight. The loss was his third in four outings since losing the WBC junior welterweight title to Devin Haney in 2023.

    Benn controlled the early rounds with his jab and movement before Prograis found some success in the middle rounds as accidental head clashes opened cuts around both of Benn’s eyes. Benn dug deep with body work in the championship rounds and swept the final five rounds to secure the decision.

    With Benn now positioned as the WBC mandatory challenger at welterweight, the Garcia fight carries both a title and a massive commercial draw on both sides of the Atlantic. Other potential opponents include Devin Haney, Shakur Stevenson, and Rolando Romero, but Benn has made clear that the WBC belt is his only priority.

  • Eddie Hearn Denies Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury Is Agreed

    Eddie Hearn Denies Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury Is Agreed

    Eddie Hearn has pushed back hard on reports that Anthony Joshua has agreed to fight Tyson Fury, calling the claim “completely untrue” and confirming no deal is in place for the long-awaited all-British heavyweight showdown.

    The denial came after talkSPORT’s Gareth A Davies reported over the weekend that the fight is “agreed” and set to stream on Netflix — a claim that also clashed with Joshua’s existing broadcast partnership with DAZN.

    “Completely untrue. There is absolutely nothing signed with Anthony Joshua to fight Tyson Fury next. There is nothing agreed,” Hearn told The Stomping Ground. “There have been conversations — deep conversations prior to the accident — but since then, there have been no real conversations about that fight.”

    Car Crash Derailed 2026 Plans

    The original roadmap had Joshua returning in March before facing Fury later in the year. Those plans collapsed after Joshua was involved in a fatal car crash in Lagos, Nigeria, on December 29, which claimed the lives of two of his close friends and teammates, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.

    Hearn confirmed to Boxing Scene that the revised plan has Joshua targeting a comeback in July or late summer, though he cautioned that a return date depends on when “AJ” gets back into training camp.

    “Physically he’s not yet in a position to return to camp,” Hearn said. “We’ll only know if July is a real possibility when he returns to camp, which will hopefully be in the next couple of weeks or a month.”

    The promoter has also walked back the certainty around a Fury fight happening at all. Speaking to Yahoo Sport, Hearn admitted there are “no guarantees” Joshua fights again, and acknowledged he doesn’t know whether Joshua vs. Fury will “ever happen right now” — a marked shift from the confident timeline he was projecting before the accident.

    Fury Fights April 11, Joshua Door Still Open

    Fury, meanwhile, returns on April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against hard-hitting contender Arslanbek Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs), live on Netflix. The fight marks Fury’s first bout on British soil in nearly four years and his comeback from a self-declared retirement.

    Hearn stopped short of closing the door on Joshua-Fury entirely.

    “We’re open to the Fury fight,” he said, “but probably more likely end of the year — maybe early 2027.”

    He also noted that Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh remains the key figure in brokering any deal, saying Joshua’s side has accepted a framework but that the Fury negotiations are out of their hands.

    “It’s Turki Alalshikh’s responsibility to talk to Tyson Fury and try to make the deal,” Hearn said. “Is the fight made? No. Because I don’t know where he’s at with Tyson Fury.”