Eddie Hearn has shared his thoughts on Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing signing a multi-year broadcast deal with Sky Sports.
It was announced this week that White’s new boxing promotion would now be aired on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, with the promise of at least five shows in the UK per year.
Matchroom CEO Hearn spent the best part of a decade with an exclusive broadcasting deal with Sky, before leaving in 2021 to join streaming platform DAZN.
Hearn has now given his reaction to TalkSport on the new partnership between Sky and White, claiming that Zuffa have ‘massive problems’ currently.
“It depends what shows they give them. I think they’re doing four shows in the UK. It’s not a lot, but they haven’t got any UK fighters other than Conor Benn, whose contract expires in what, three weeks? So we’ll see what happens.
“I’ve said before, Zuffa and TKO are a big company, but they’ve got massive problems at the moment. The UFC, there’s a fighter revolt going on at the moment. Them moving into boxing has highlighted this problem and blown it up out of nowhere.
“A lot will depend on the time and effort and if they can be bothered to fight every single day in the boxing space. That’s what you’ve got to do.”
Hearn then said that Sky Sports being involved in boxing is a good thing for the sport.
“At the moment, I would say Zuffa are eighth or ninth in terms of promotional rankings in terms of what they’re doing and the fighters they have, so they have got to try and move up the ladder and I’m not sure if they’re capable of doing it.
“We’ll see the level of shows they put on Sky Sports. Jake Paul has got dates on Sky Sports, so whatever happens, it’s great to see Sky Sports back in boxing.”
While Zuffa and Sky will be working together, Hearn and Matchroom recently inked a five-year extension with DAZN, with Top Rank also recently joining the platform.
