Eddie Hearn believes Top Rank never intended to beat Xander Zayas against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, claiming the undefeated Puerto Rican champion forced the fight by insisting he wanted the challenge.
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Hearn has repeatedly described Ennis as boxing’s next superstar, but said the fight almost never happened because Top Rank wouldn’t have chosen him as an opponent.”
While Hearn repeatedly backed Ennis to win, he also praised Zayas for taking a fight that many promoters would have avoided.
“If Xander Zayas is in your stable, do you put him in this fight? No, but neither does Top Rank,” Hearn told Radio Rahim.
“That was the fact … of course the DAZN connection kind of makes a big difference. If Top Rank was still with ESPN, there’s no way they would allow this fight.
“But they want to make big fights. And when their fighter tells them, ‘I want the fight,’ you can’t really say no.
“It’s not a fight, they would have gone to him and said, ‘What about Boots Ennis fighting?’ Because everyone knows how good Boots is.”
Hearn said Ennis’ reputation within the sport has never been in doubt, arguing that the Philadelphia native simply hasn’t had enough opportunities against elite opponents.
“You never hear anybody say, ‘The guy’s overrated. The guy’s not the real deal.’ It’s just that he didn’t have the chance. Outside of the Stanionis fight, who is number one in the division, to show his true greatness,” Hearn said.
Zayas (23-0, 13 KOs) defends his unified WBA and WBO junior middleweight championships against Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs), who is making his second fight at 154 pounds after dispatching Uisma Lima within a round last October.
Hearn believes Saturday’s fight will finally give Ennis the opportunity to prove why, in his opinion, Top Rank never wanted Zayas sharing the ring with him
Last updated on 2026/06/26 at 18:17
