Eddie Hearn has compared the UFC to boxing when talking about the biggest issue in the sport.
Hearn has been a long time admirer of the UFC and its president Dana White, having previously called him the ‘best promoter in the world’. The Matchroom boss has not hidden the fact that he’s stolen ideas from the dominant MMA brand when it comes to event hype and production.
In an interview on the Bloomberg Market & Finance YouTube channel, when Hearn was asked what he would change in boxing, he replied:
“I think it would be the ability to make the biggest fights possible in the sport.”
The problem with boxing vs UFC for example, is you have different broadcasters, you have different promoters.”
My job is to deliver the best fights for DAZN. Al Hayman’s job is to deliver the best fights for FOX. Bob Arum’s job is to deliver the best fights for ESPN, and no one really wants to give and take and share.
The frustration with fight fans vs the UFC, where they have a blanket policy, where fighters are quite frankly told which fights they’re in.”
This is a hot topic at the moment, with broadcasting issues being blamed for the biggest fights not being made, something the UFC, exclusively shown on ESPN in America, doesn’t have to worry about.
However, with the recent announcement that Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia look set to meet in April 2023 and for it to be aired on both Showtime and DAZN, it does give fans hope that 2023 could be the year we finally get to see the biggest names in the sport fighting each other.