Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn
tore into Dana White, Zuffa Boxing, and UFC in a discussion with The Stomping Ground on Saturday, following Zuffa’s card in Bournemouth and Matchroom’s show in Sheffield.Hearn said that in the boxing world, Zuffa still “don’t get it,” though most would agree that Saturday’s show was a good one, with a terrific main event between Chris Billam-Smith and Ryan Rozicki. And his greater criticisms, beyond fight quality, come from how he believes Zuffa, TKO, and UFC
treat their talent, including Tom Aspinall, with whom Hearn is working as a sort of adviser now, as well as Zuffa and their parent company, TKO, fielding so many lawsuits at the moment, including one from Ben Shalom.
Here’s what Hearn had to say.
On upcoming Matchroom cards and ticket sales
“Bam against Vargas, massive card. 13,000 in Phoenix before we head to New York for Boots against Zayas, 16,000. … Johnny Nelson said [Zuffa Boxing did] 6,000 in [Bournemouth] tonight. Only holds 2,000, so that was adventurous.”
On Zuffa’s Bournemouth show
“Listen, I haven’t really seen it, but there’s no competition at the moment. I don’t think Zuffa have broken into the top 10, in terms of promotional outfits. [Globally] or anywhere, really, but I mean, definitely globally, let’s go with that, it’s a bit kinder.
“I said it earlier, and it was no disrespect to Ben Shalom, but Ben Shalom is on another level to Zuffa. The shows that Ben Shalom puts on — to be fair, even though he’s still fairly new in the game, the knowledge that he has about boxing is on another level to Zuffa. They just don’t get it.”
On Zuffa featuring WWE stars and Dana White’s vision
“They paid everyone $25,000 for turning up [to Friday’s Q&A], so that was quite nice for Finn Balor. … I just think fight fans are different. But the thing is, you have to try, and you have to try and evolve. So when Dana White says, ‘We’re going to bring something completely different, these guys have no vision’ — so their vision is to bring a couple of WWE geezers and do a Q&A on a Friday. Or do a grey ring mat and make everyone wear terrible Zuffa gloves and shorts. That’s the vision. Incredible body of work.”
On Ben Shalom filing suit against Zuffa
“Good on him! Fucking good on Ben Shalom. I had a chat with him the other day, I said to Shalom, I said, ‘Listen, mate, you are fucked. You should just go for it now. Go rogue!’ … If Shalom can hang in there, it’ll be alright. He would have ridden the wave, he would have learned so much, he would have built his resilience, and you have to give him credit. He got a deal with Sky Sports, he got a deal with BBC. He’s still hanging in there, floating around, but he can’t let people mug him off.
“If it’s true, and Zuffa have been stealing his fighters, which is his allegation — what are you gonna do about it? You gonna sit there and moan about it or fucking go to war? You’ve got nothing to lose, so I guess he’s decided to go to war. Right now, Zuffa have got lawsuits coming out of their arse, TKO is getting sued left, right, and center, the UFC is in tatters. I’m happy to stand back and let these guys have a fight. We’re just doing our thing.”
On Tom Aspinall’s standing with UFC
“The reality is, Tom signed a contract with UFC. All I can do is give my advice. And Tom has brought me onto his team to give him advice. His contract is disgusting. They have no respect for him. I feel they’re completely disregarding and disrespecting the value that he brings as UFC heavyweight champion. But we’ll have to see what happens.
“How can you not be invited to UFC London, apart from an hour before when he lives four hours away? How can you not be invited to UFC White House when you’re supposed to be fighting the winner? And how can you be paid one-fiftieth of the revenue of the show as the main event for the heavyweight champion of the world? That’s my opinion.
“I could do Ngannou against Tom Aspinall. Tom would make 10 times more than he’s making under his current UFC contract, but it’s not possible. We’re not looking to breach his contract or disrespect the contract. I’m here to give my advice. But I think it’s disgusting, to be honest with you, how they treat fighters, having seen it up close now.”
