Eddie Hearn recently announced UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall had signed an advisory deal with his newly formed Matchroom Talent Agency.
The news came as a surprise due to Hearn primarily being a boxing promoter with no prior involvement in MMA, however, the British promoter has been in a media battle with UFC president Dana White, who recently entered boxing as a promoter through Zuffa Boxing. There has been some serious mudslinging between the pair following Zuffa’s acquisition of Conor Benn.
It has suggested that Aspinall could make the switch to boxing since linking up with Hearn. However, Aspinall has largely dismissed those stories.
“I never said once that I wanted to box,” Aspinall told The Ariel Helwani Show. “It’s not really of interest to me right now. Maybe when I’m a little bit older, toward the back end of my career, I might do it a little bit more. But right now, my interests are MMA.”
Aspinall has one professional boxing match on his BoxRec profile. Prior to competing in the UFC, the MMA fighter did make the switch to boxing. In 2017, the Lancashire man produced a first-round stoppage over journeyman Tamas Bajzath in Manchester.
Aspinall has made no secret about his diminishing relationship with White, appearing to force his move to sign an advisory deal with Matchroom.
“All of our team agreed that this was the right time to do it, just with everything going on and the state of MMA and the state of boxing right now,” Aspinall explained. “I think it’s a good time to do it and the right time to do it. Everybody is happy and everyone is satisfied. I know the guys have some big things coming up for me in the future. I’m very happy with it.”
Aspinall defended his UFC title in difficult circumstances last October against Ciryl Gane. The result went down as a no contest due to an eye poke, which has left Aspinall requiring eye surgery.
“It’s getting better,” Aspinall added. “I’m pretty happy with it. Everything is going really well. I actually went for a scan last week and things are moving in the right direction. Everything is positive. Back in the gym training, but no contact just yet.”
