Following a recent interview with Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn in which he discusses his attempts to make Jaron Ennis a unification match against Brian Norman, Norman’s father releases a video message making it clear that they are not shying away from the fight. As Norman’s father says, they are actually interested in making this fight happen, and he believes there was a miscommunication.

“This is the latest on the Boots fighting situation on our side. I try to be as see-through as possible with Boots, Bozy and his team. I contacted him after Eddie Hearn did an interview.

“We immediately contacted Matchroom’s lawyers, the ones who sent the offer, and asked what does it mean that we rejected two offers? The Matchroom lawyer replies, “Oh, we didn’t realize you sent a counteroffer, which I find demanding to believe because how can you say we rejected anything, which means you never saw the response to your offer.

“The first offer was absurd, but the second one was close and we can work on it a bit. Anyway, we asked, “What’s your final offer?” Since then there has been no response, nothing.

“It’s been seven days since the first contract was sent, so I know they work on Saturdays, I know they work on Saturdays… With all due respect to Team Ennis, everyone with him, we have nothing but love for them, I hope people don’t believe that all this nonsense was rah-rah towards them, nothing like that… We want smoke in the ring, it has nothing to do with anything personal.

“Bozy didn’t turn down this fight, let me make that clear. Boots didn’t turn down the fight. I don’t think anyone is lying. I believe this is simply misinformation circulating. But at this point, it looks like it’s bullshit – at this point, because we’ve clearly turned around and said, “What’s your final offer?” and 24 hours passed, no one said a word.”

Following the recent official news of Shakur Stevenson signing with Matchroom, his promoter Eddie Hearn discusses his plans for Stevenson while touching on his ideas regarding Jaron Ennis and others. You can check out some excerpts from Hearn below, and the full video interview is at the top.

After signing Shakur Stevenson

“I really feel like I’ve been promoting Shakur Stevenson for years because I’ve been talking about him for years… I know my boxing and I know how good this kid is. He may be unbeatable, I know he’s a star who fights non-stop, there’s something about Shakur Stevenson’s mentality that makes me confident he’ll beat everyone.

“I think he has been hugely underrated. I think he should be not only an American superstar, but also a world star. I think he’s edgy, I think he’s got balls, I think he’s incredibly talented and I’ll do everything in my power to give him the platform and promotional push his skills deserve.

“For Shakur, the plan is for Joe Cordina to have two fights, and if he wins, a fight with Zepeda. And during this period we will show him our value. We will work closely together, Gervonta Davis, everyone. I hope these two fights will decide Shakur Stevenson’s career at Matchroom.”

About Stevenson’s fight with Cordina, which was not well received by fans

“I think it’s a really, really good fight… Stylistically, it’s a great fight for Joe Cordina and it’s actually a great fight for boxing. Two truly talented fighters. I think it will be a great fight and Shakur is a huge favorite for this fight, but Joe coming off the loss to Cacace and having the extra weight at lightweight, this is the right fight.

“It’s not witty, the last guy Shakur Stevenson boxed, Joe beat him easily, and probably the guys before that. So Joe is a earnest fighter…

“For me, we go with Joe Cordina, William Zepeda and Gervonta Davis. For me, once we do our job in these six months, Gervonta Davis vs. Shakur Stevenson will be the biggest fight in boxing. But we make our own moves. We’re not chasing Tank, we’re chasing greatness, but that comes with Tank because he’s an unbelievable fighter.”

About his plans for Jaron “Boots” Ennis

“That’s why we made offers to Brian Norman, the WBO champion; Barrios, WBC champion; and Stanionis, the WBA champion. They were all rejected. The one I think has legs – and I’ve seen him and his father in the last 24 hours – is Brian Norman, the WBO champion. We have already made two offers to Top Rank for Brian Norman, both of which were rejected pleasantly – I mean, we get on very well with Top Rank.

“Yesterday he posted a post in which he wrote: ‘we made a counter-offer.’ We did not receive any counter-offer. So Brian, if you want to make a counteroffer, hurry up and do it. But I want to fight this fight and if Brian Norman has the balls and if Brian Norman is real, Brian, if you’re real, let’s go. Let’s speed it up, let’s do this fight, because these are the fights we should be fighting.

“Brian Norman says Boots isn’t the boogeyman, he’s overrated. If you believe that, let’s end this fight. It’s a great fight between two brilliant American fighters.”

Shakur Stevenson is no longer a free agent, as Matchroom Boxing announced today that it has signed the WBC lightweight champion ahead of his title defense against Joe Cordina on October 12.

“I am ready to begin the next chapter of my career, which begins on October 12 with Joe Cordina on the season card in Riyad, Saudi Arabia,” Stevenson said.

“I made it clear that I wanted the biggest names and the biggest fights in the sport. Put William Zepeda on top in 2025 and I’ll be ready for anyone brave enough to step into the ring with me. In recent years, there have been few people willing to take up this challenge.

With Matchroom and Riyadh Season, I am joining forces with a promotional force that matches my world-class talent. We will be unstoppable in and out of the ring, and I will continue to demonstrate my dominance in boxing for many years to come.”

The press release did not specify how long their cooperation will last. Juliusz Julianis previously reported that Stevenson (22-0, 10 KO) was only going to stay with them for one fight, but it appears he will be working with Matchroom for the Zepeda fight as well. Considering how close Matchroom is to Golden Boy, this seems like the easiest way.

Earlier this year, the WBC announced that Zepeda would be a mandatory fighter, but according to Mike Coppinger, Zepeda wanted to delay it in preparation for the birth of his child.