Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn spent some time answering media questions about this weekend’s main event featuring Jaron “Boots” Ennis, his interest in pursuing a Terence Crawford fight for Boots, and his thoughts on bringing Shakur Stevenson into the fold once he moves on free agency. Below you’ll find some of Hearn’s comments on these topics and more.
Hearn on Crawford’s upcoming fight with Madrimov
“I think it’s a banana peel for Crawford… obviously, like I said, you’re making Terence Crawford your favorite, but, but, but, huge banana peel, August. third.”
On what Ennis needs to do to demand a fight with Crawford
“Just perform. As for promotion, that’s already done, we’ll take care of it. But performance. If he comes on Saturday, doesn’t play and declares victory, it won’t be a huge problem, but a huge disappointment. If he enters the fight, he will look great, he will knock down Avanesyan in four rounds, the situation will go crazy – what counts is the dynamics.
“So for me, one of the best fights in boxing, one of the purest fights in boxing is the Crawford vs. Boots fight. But we want to take care of business at 147. I feel we have to unite, we need these tough tests and after scoring a huge goal here on Saturday I know we can fill the whole place against players like Barrios, against players like Stanionis and that’s what we have to do, before we get to 154 pounds.
“If Crawford is successful (against Madrimov), it will be a dream fight, not only as a Boots promoter, but also in boxing.”
Enabled if Crawford told him he was interested in fighting Boots
“I don’t think so, no. I don’t think he wants this fight. He’d probably say, “Well, what does this fight mean to me?” and the answer is hopefully a lot of money. Look, Crawford is a brilliant fighter, I’m sure he’s not afraid of him and I’m sure he believes he can beat Jaron Ennis, but also BoMac and Crawford. They also have incredible boxing knowledge and know how good Ennis is.
“I think this is the toughest fight for him and I don’t think they’ll be lining up for it, but when the demand comes and someone like His Excellency says, ‘I want to fight this fight, I’m definitely going to fight it.’
About the proposed Pacquaio vs. Barrios fight
“It’s a very controversial topic, just like people complaining about Manny Pacquiao. I think Manny Pacquiao is still good enough to beat most of the top 20 guys in the 147-pound weight class. He’s clearly not the warrior he once was, you won’t be at this age. My problem is he’s been inactive for a long time, like we talked about his fight with Conor Benn maybe six months ago or a year ago, and with every month that goes by, three or six months, you get a lot older.
“So I think there are two questions. First, should he fight again? And ultimately, if he’s good enough to beat everyone outside the top 20 in the world, then why not. But should he fight for the world title? I think that’s another question. In the commercial world of boxing, the answer is probably yes. In the world of rankings and activity, the answer is probably no.”
On if he is interested in pursuing Shakur Stevenson in his free agency
“He’s coming on Saturday. I’ve done a much better job than Top Rank promoting him over the last 12 months, and I’m not even under contract with him. Because I’m answering your questions and I keep saying the same thing: I think he’s a great fighter who fights no matter what. I think he is one of the best players in the sport.
“He had a good audience in Newark, he just drew the biggest audience on ESPN in 2024, and people still like to criticize. He’s not Arturo Gatti, he’s not going to go in there with his head held high and start a war every time, but when he’s up against an elite opponent, you’re going to see some of the best fights in boxing.
“In my opinion he should fight William Zepeda. I think it’s a really good fight… it’s a fight I talked to him about. But do you really want to sign – this is not a question for me, but for him – a five-fight contract when it may prevent you from getting some fights?
“I think Shakur is probably thinking, ‘I have to fight Tank, I have to fight Zepeda, I have to fight Lopez, I have to fight all of these,’ and maybe our discussions will be one or two fights or three fights, I don’t know. But I think he needs that fluidity to be able to move and have those fights because that’s when you’ll see him at his best.”
What three fights would he like Stevenson to fight if he were signed to Matchroom?
“William Zepeda, maybe moving up to 140 pounds to fight Liam Paro or another champion at 140 pounds, and then approaching other companies to do a co-promotional deal and a shared platform… it’s really going to come down to whether Tank and PBC, if they want to fight Shakur Stevenson because it’s a very, very, very risky fight for Tank and he has to beat Lomachenko first.
He reportedly told Bob Arum that he was not interested in offering Stevenson more than Top Rank was paying him
“I told Bob that. Bob told me something about Shakur, I thought, “Pfft, I’ll tell you what, Bob, I’m not paying him what you’re paying him.” It was a joking remark and I’ll have to pay him what Bob pays him. He won’t come – he knows I’m a better promoter, he knows it will be better for his career, but he’s not going to accept less money.
“But he has to accept this plan, right, because Shakur Stevenson has a lot of work ahead of him. Right now it’s Shakur against the world. He’s fighting all these Twitter battles himself, putting out all the fires, and the reality is exhausting… it’s not a good look or a good plan.
“Top Rank dropped him a year ago. So he needs to tranquil down on social media, ask me to speak for him, run the promotional machine while he sleeps, get in the gym and beat these guys.
About who will win between Stevenson and Tank
“You see, this is about Tank, who I think is a brilliant fighter, electrifying, very heavy-handed – he loses a lot of rounds. He lost rounds to Frank Martin, he lost rounds to Ryan Garcia, he lost rounds to Pitbull Cruz, and all these guys are not on the same level as Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson.
“So he must strike at these people, otherwise he will be defeated. But he influences them because he hits really tough, and Tank not only hits, he also has a good boxing IQ. I just don’t think IQ is as good as Lomachenko or as good as Shakur Stevenson. But will he be able to squeeze them in? Because I promise you this, if he doesn’t stop these people, he will be behind at almost every intersection of these fights, including Lomachenko. I think he will stop Lomachenko, but he will be at the back.”
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