“We’re only interested in those fights,” Hearn told Fight Hub TV about him and Boots only wanting the big fights.
This is where Xander Zayas enters the conversation. Not as a natural next opponent, but as one made possible by circumstances. Hearn tied that fight directly to Top Rank’s move to DAZN, noting that communication between the teams is now easier and more direct. The battle becomes viable because the platforms are aligned, not because they are built over time.
“There’s a better line of communication,” Hearn said of the communication between Matchroom and Top Rank promoted Xander.
That distinction is important. WBA interim junior middleweight champion Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) is not moving through a clear contender path. He’s waiting for big names as the calendar moves, and the pool of those names is small. When one of them becomes easier to negotiate due to shared broadcasting interests, it rises quickly.
Hearn did not offer WBA and WBO 154-lb champion Xander as a fallback or a secondary option. He described it as a fight that matched the level of Ennis against Vergil Ortiz Jr., putting it firmly in the same tier of target fights. At the same time, he stopped short of saying it was close, leaving it in that familiar space where interest exists but nothing is assured.
The result is a narrow lane. Boots, 28, chases the biggest fights available, but those fights depend on collaboration across promoters and platforms. When that collaboration lines up, as it does now with DAZN and Top Rank, a fight that once felt unlikely can move forward.
This seems like the clearest direction available, whether that was the original plan or not.
