Hearn lets loose on how much UFC fighters are being paid.
In recent times, boxing has been involving figures from the world of MMA and other combat disciplines a lot more frequently. Jake Paul, of course, has fought a number of former UFC fighters, some of whom have even returned on his undercards.
Francis Ngannou’s fights with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will endure as one of those odd series of memories boxing fans will look back on in the years to come. And of course, Rico Verhoeven’s amazing performance against Oleksandr Usyk just the other week lists amongst the examples.
It’s no secret why this has become a more popular trend. Indeed, boxing pays far more than kickboxing and MMA, and this is something that has had more attention drawn to it this year.
And now, in an interview with Bloody Elbow, Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn has had things to say regarding how much UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall (who recently signed with the Matchroom Talent Agency) is being paid.
“At the end of the day, I’m not gonna let Tom Aspinall fight for the kind of money that’s in his contract [with the UFC],” Hearn said, “to be involved in a fight against [Alex] Pereira or [Ciryl] Gane for literally 1/50th of the revenue of that show.
“F**k that. I won’t let him do it, and you know, it’s time that those UFC fighters stop bein’ mugs and started to understand that these people are takin’ advantage of them. They deserve better, you know? And they don’t mind payin’ these fighters [in boxing] all this money, but they won’t do it with the UFC fighters.”
Continuing, Hearn said, “I will tell you the number, in time, if we get to that. You, the UFC fans, everybody will be sick to their stomach about the money that Tom Aspinall is supposed to get for that kind of fight, for the revenue that exists in that fight.
“It’s not fair. And we’re not tryin’ to be unreasonable, but my advice to Tom Aspinall is, mate, you don’t need that. You nearly lost your eyesight [in the Ciryl Gane fight], you had four operations on your eyes, and you wanna go back and fight for virtually nothing in this fight, in a rematch?”
Hearn ultimately concluded by saying, “I mean, he knows no better; he’s a fighter. But trust me when I say it: I know what I’m talkin’ about. It’s outrageous, and I’ll do everythin’ I can to not allow it.”
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