Eddie Hearn on Opetaia's Move to Zuffa: "I Couldn't Offer Him Anything"

Eddie Hearn, the head of Matchroom Boxing, discussed the signing of the IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, whom his company previously worked with, to the premier boxing promotion Zuffa Boxing.

“I think for Jai, this is a deal he had to take. He had three fights in the 'middle of nowhere' in Australia, earning, you know, very little money. No one really wanted to fight him, so he had to do something. DAZN passed on his last fight; it was on the Stan platform.

It’s not about Jai, it’s just that Australia is a tough market.

Contractually, we started working with him about a year ago. But we were collaborating with Mick Francis and Tasman Fighters. Last January, we were heavily involved. Then there was a fight in June where we were barely involved, and in December on Stan, where we couldn't be involved because we have exclusivity with DAZN.

For Zuffa, this is a good 'catch'. That’s one of the reasons they signed him – it looks like he left Matchroom. But for Jai, this is a great opportunity.

I’ll be honest, I couldn't offer him anything, or at least nothing that was the best option for him. This is a great chance for him.

I just hope they keep their word and give him fights. He can't have any more warm-up fights. He had three of those last year, which, unfortunately, mean almost nothing. If they put him in a non-unification fight again – that will be bad,” Hearn said.

It is planned that Opetaia (29-0, 23 KOs) will have his first fight under Zuffa Boxing in March. It will likely be a title unification bout against WBC champion Noel Mikaelian.