![\"Eddie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jaron-ennis-eddie-hearn-april-2025_pm8l3nyh2uz21pg4m5gzsu1io-600x338.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOn Saturday night, June 27, 2026, the Barclays Center will host a high-stakes collision that traditional boxing politics usually prevent. Unified WBA\/WBO super welterweight champion Xander Zayas is putting his straps on the line against the undefeated, multi-division phenom Jaron \u201cBoots\u201d Ennis.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In a sport famously crippled by protective promoters and fragmented networks, this fight represents a rare alignment of the stars\u2014and a terrifying gamble. To make it happen, Matchroom Boxing and Top Rank had to tear up the traditional promotional playbook, utilizing a shared broadcast home on DAZN to bypass years of institutional animosity. For Jaron Ennis, it is the ultimate showcase to prove he belongs at the top of the pound-for-pound mountain; for Matchroom Chairman Eddie Hearn, it is a multi-million-dollar investment sitting on a razor\u2019s edge in front of a hostile East Coast crowd.<\/p>\n
Sitting down just hours before the opening bell, Hearn pulled back the curtain on the backstage legalities, the text-message diplomacy with Bob Arum, and the cold reality of managing a generational talent who refuses to take an easy fight.<\/p>\n
The SOURCE: This is the fight of the year, massive fight this weekend with Boots and Xander. Many see Boots as the future pound-for-pound king. We know Zayas has the straps, both WBO, WBA. From a promotional standpoint, how crucial is a dominant performance from Boots this weekend just to set up those global megafights that you have in mind for him?<\/p>\n
Eddie Hearn: Yeah, I mean, obviously, you\u2014you always just want to win. That\u2019s\u2014that\u2019s the first and foremost. But I\u2014I just feel like Boots is potentially the\u2014the number one guy in boxing. Like pound-for-pound. But you can have pound-for-pound ability, if you don\u2019t have a pound-for-pound resume, it doesn\u2019t matter. You can never get up to the top five and top three. So this is a victory that will allow him to get on that list, in my opinion, but just the beginning. And the\u2014the method of victory is really important in terms of the statement that you\u2019re making.<\/p>\n
And I\u2019ve got to say both guys, I\u2019ve never seen two guys more confident. It concerns me a little bit because I know Boots is confident, but Zayas is so confident as well. I\u2019m still trying to get my head round the fact they\u2019ve even taken this fight. So I\u2019ve got to give him unbelievable credit.<\/p>\n
I was really interested to see the Roy Jones\/Andre Ward chat where, you know, Andre Ward, who\u2019s probably a little bit more strategical with his career, was like, \u201cWhy\u2014why is he taking this fight?\u201d And Roy Jones is like, \u201cIt\u2019s what you do. Like, you\u2014you\u2019re a unified world champion. You think you\u2019re the best in the division, fight the guy that other people are thinking\u2019s the best in the division.\u201d So we need to thank\u2014I mean both guys, but particularly Zayas for giving us this incredible fight. 23 years old, 28 years old\u2014these guys are the future of the sport. And if Jaron does what I think he\u2019s going to do on Saturday, I think the whole world will be saying this is the new king of boxing for the foreseeable.<\/p>\n
You mentioned that it\u2019s dangerous for both sides, especially for legacies, the future and what-not. And you mentioned you have a bit of a cautious feeling about this fight, with a heavy East Coast crowd. What does it feel like for you putting your investment into this space? How does that internally sit with you? I know you\u2019re confident in his abilities, but from you as both a fan of him and a businessman, what does that feel like for you?<\/p>\n
Well, I think firstly, him as an individual and his team are real stand-up people, right? So like, great, great people. Money, yes, always important, but legacy, belts\u2014they want that, and I love working with people like that.<\/p>\n
When we signed Boots, it was such a major addition to our stable in America. But then the pressure never really stops because everyone goes, \u201cWow, what a signing. Yeah, but what\u2019s Matchroom going to do with him? How are they going to move him?\u201d And then we fight Avanesyan, and then all of a sudden the IBF put a mandatory on us, and it\u2019s the same guy that he\u2019s already beaten. And it\u2019s like, fuck, you know. And then it\u2019s like, \u201cOh, Matchroom, they can\u2019t get him the big fights.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a round of fights, then there were all the litigation problems with Golden Boy, and it was a mess, and we took it right to the wire and we couldn\u2019t deliver it and we\u2019re in trouble because we have to land him a big fight.<\/p>\n
I have to give unbelievable props to Zayas because Top Rank didn\u2019t really want this fight. They\u2019re very, very good in strategically moving their fighters. They know the risk. But I think Zayas goes, \u201cNo, no, no, I want Boots. I will beat him.\u201d So he\u2019s 23 years old, he\u2019s a superstar of the sport, and he\u2019s choosing to fight the best in the division. He deserves unbelievable props.<\/p>\n
As a business, when that gets signed, it\u2019s like massive\u2014this is the fight that could turn Boots into the star that we think he really is. Then you\u2019ve got Philly, you\u2019ve got Puerto Rico, the Barclays Center\u2014right now we are at 12,000 already, like we\u2019re going to end up 15,000 in there. It\u2019s going to be completely rocked out. So as a business, it\u2019s really important because it\u2019s very competitive at the moment in the space. You\u2019ve got DAZN flying, they\u2019ve got a lot of promoters on there. You\u2019ve got the war between me and Dana White, all this kind of stuff. So you have to be creating those showcase events. To be doing a sold-out fight of the year at the Barclays Center, this is gold for us.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s even more gold is I know that people tuning in on DAZN or people buying a ticket will see a brilliant fight. Because that\u2019s the difference. A lot of these pound-for-pound guys, they\u2019re very good technical fighters, they\u2019ve got good footwork, but let\u2019s be honest, not every fight is great to watch. Boots comes to destroy. And Zayas is strong, he comes forward, he throws a lot of punches\u2014this can only be an electric fight. So it\u2019s a big, big moment for us and, you know, obviously even bigger if Boots can get the job done.<\/p>\n
You walked right into my next point where you were talking about the co-promotion. Like you said, we have Matchroom, we have Top Rank. Getting two powerhouse promotional stables to agree to a fight is a nightmare, let\u2019s just be honest about it. What was the exact turning point in negotiations where you and Bob Arum were like, \u201cOkay, we can do this\u201d?<\/p>\n
Well, two things, I think. I think number one is Xander\u2019s insistence to make this fight. And number two is definitely Top Rank\u2019s move to DAZN. Because if Top Rank was still with ESPN, there is no way in the world they would have made this fight. Right. Because your job as a promoter is to keep your best talent on your platform, right, and obviously keep them winning and keep growing them as a brand. So we would have never seen ESPN and DAZN, in my opinion, putting this fight together.<\/p>\n
But when they moved to DAZN, we\u2019re all on one platform. DAZN obviously said to them, \u201cLook, we love Boots against Xander Zayas.\u201d Xander Zayas said, \u201cI want the fight.\u201d So Top Rank don\u2019t really have a lot of choice. Now, I\u2019m not saying they were begging him not to take it, but they\u2019re very strategic, Top Rank. I\u2019ve lost a lot of fights to Top Rank because I like to put my guys in the big fights, big moments\u2014let\u2019s find out how good we are. But they don\u2019t really do that. So that\u2019s why Zayas deserves so much credit because he said, \u201cNo, I want Boots. I can beat him.\u201d And they were like, \u201cWell, okay. We\u2019re in.\u201d So yeah, the co-promotion\u2019s been really good and I feel like that DAZN platform\u2019s been so good in breaking down those barriers because promoters are working together.<\/p>\n
Speaking about this card, we got Ben Whittaker on here, and this is a highly anticipated state debut for Whittaker. We were speaking about entertainment, he\u2019s peak entertainment. The American crowd can be tough though. What are your expectations on how his persona gets in front of like a New York audience?<\/p>\n
Yeah, he\u2019s not doing the same kind of things as he used to do because the level has really improved now with the opponents, so there\u2019s only so much you can get away with. The best thing I can say about Ben Whittaker is he is a great person and he\u2019s a hell of a fighter. This TikTok stuff, the Instagram numbers, the crazy following that he has\u2014that\u2019s one thing, and that\u2019s a blessing because it allows you to create opportunities and make money. I look at him\u2014I\u2019m a boxing guy, so I look at the fighter. And you got a guy there who is an Olympic silver medalist, he was one of the best amateurs the country\u2019s ever produced, he is an elite talent. I said recently, if Whittaker doesn\u2019t become certainly world champion, but unified or undisputed, we haven\u2019t really done our job because he\u2019s that good.<\/p>\n
Now, you throw that in with the fact that this guy just gets it on every level: marketing, promotion, kit, apparel, content\u2014everything. Then you throw in Andy Lee, you throw in the preparation\u2014we\u2019re really in a good place right now with Ben Whittaker.<\/p>\n
The performance is everything. So if you come to America and it\u2019s a bit boring and you\u2019re flash, and then the crowd, as they do in America, start boing after about two rounds, it starts to become a little bit tough. However, if you come in looking a million dollars and you got all the swag and you light up the place, it\u2019s massive. And that\u2019s what we need from Ben, and he\u2019s been doing that. Lately, he\u2019s been stepping up the opposition against guys that were supposed to give him rounds, and he destroyed the last one in a round. He\u2019s punching really hard, I think Rivera is a really solid test for him. He\u2019s a good, good pro, a decent fighter, and this is the last fight for Ben before we move to the next level. He will fight for the world championship in 2027, no doubt. I believe he\u2019s a superstar in the making globally, and a phenomenal fighter.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s dive back into Boots. This is someone who you have quite literally at your fingertips. You see him, you see him train, you talk to him, you can text him, you can call him. What have you seen in his preparation for this fight that maybe different, or maybe the same, as how he\u2019s been approaching the ones before this?<\/p>\n
I just feel like with Boots, boxing is his entire life. He\u2019s a gym rat. If you look at his family, obviously his dad\u2019s his trainer, he\u2019s got his brothers in the gym\u2014boxing and the gym is their entire life. You don\u2019t see him going to nightclubs or out in swanky restaurants or flying around the world on jets on these holidays, because all he wants to do is be in the gym. And his whole life of work will be exposed on Saturday night. All that dedication and all that preparation will come to fruition on Saturday.<\/p>\n
That is your moment, and that\u2019s why he\u2019s so excited. I feel like he\u2019s like, \u201cDo you know what? All my work and all my greatness and all my potential will come to light on Saturday night and the world will get to see how special I am.\u201d Sometimes when you work with a fighter\u2014Bam\u2019s the same, to be fair\u2014it\u2019s hard to get nervous around these guys. I sit down, I have so much belief in their ability, their mindset, and you see how confident they are, and you\u2019re just like, \u201cYou ain\u2019t losing.\u201d Shakur\u2019s the same, to be honest with you. But it\u2019s like you have so much belief, you\u2019re just like, you ain\u2019t losing.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how I feel about him. I see nothing else than a performance that will shock the world on Saturday in terms of how great Jaron \u201cBoots\u201d Ennis is. That\u2019s what I expect. I don\u2019t expect a tight points decision, I expect a complete one-sided demolition from what I think is the best fighter in the sport. But you got to do it. And he\u2019s not in with a mug, he in with a great fighter that\u2019s got a lot of heart, so roll on Saturday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Saturday night, June 27, 2026, the Barclays Center will host a high-stakes collision that traditional boxing politics…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":764347,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,364405,802,364406,364407,85,364408],"class_list":["post-764346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ben-whittaker-us-debut-light-heavyweight","tag-boxing","tag-jaron-boots-ennis-barclays-center","tag-matchroom-top-rank-co-promotion-boxing","tag-sports","tag-xander-zayas-vs-jaron-ennis-dazn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764346","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=764346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/764347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=764346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=764346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=764346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}