{"id":558012,"date":"2026-03-23T00:31:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T00:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/558012\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T00:31:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T00:31:10","slug":"opening-seen-for-boxing-amid-mma-pressure-says-hearn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/558012\/","title":{"rendered":"Opening Seen For Boxing Amid MMA Pressure, Says Hearn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=boxingnews24.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" style=\"display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center;&#010;            width:140px; height:40px; overflow:hidden;\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"660\" height=\"208\" alt=\"Add EBoxing News 24as a preferred source on Google\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/google.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>  <\/a><\/p>\n<p>  <a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqLAgKIiZDQklTRmdnTWFoSUtFR0p2ZUdsdVoyNWxkM015TkM1amIyMG9BQVAB?ceid=US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" style=\"display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center;&#010;            width:140px; height:40px; overflow:hidden;\"><br \/>\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"468\" height=\"128\" alt=\"Follow Boxing News 24 on Google News\" style=\"height:100%; width:auto; display:block;\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/follow-google-news.png\"\/><br \/>\n  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Hearn suggested the pay difference is no longer being accepted quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fighters now, they\u2019re not having it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>There are already signs of movement. Jake Paul is building an MMA event outside the UFC structure, while Zuffa\u2019s move into boxing has brought the two sports closer. The boundaries remain, but they are becoming less fixed as both sides test how far their influence can extend.<\/p>\n<p>Hearn views the situation as an opening rather than a risk. He believes Zuffa\u2019s expansion into boxing has worked against them, creating cracks within their own structure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis move has completely [messed] them in the main part of their business,\u201d Hearn said.<\/p>\n<p>He suggested these conditions give boxing promoters a chance to challenge MMA\u2019s position more effectively than before.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI could walk into MMA and probably take it right to them now,\u201d Hearn said, making clear he was describing the moment rather than outlining any immediate plan.<\/p>\n<p>Hearn is looking at a gradual change in momentum. If dissatisfaction among fighters continues and new platforms begin to challenge the UFC\u2019s position, that pressure is likely to spread beyond MMA itself. In his view, it builds over time rather than arriving all at once.<\/p>\n<p>Boxing can benefit by staying where it is. As conditions shift elsewhere, the sport can take advantage of new openings without needing to force a direct clash between the two.<\/p>\n<p>Tom Reynolds is a boxing analyst covering major fights and career turning points, with a focus on performance, trajectory, and long-term implications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hearn suggested the pay difference is no longer being accepted quietly. \u201cThe fighters now, they\u2019re not having it,\u201d&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558013,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-558012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}