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The Big DAZN Interview: Eddie Hearn on Matchroom success, homegrown stars and what comes next
It's been a banner year for Eddie Hearn - but the Matchroom Boxing boss has high hopes that there is still more to come before 2025 is out, and with 2026 on the horizon.
The veteran promoter has overseen some of the biggest fights on the planet this year, helping to futher boost the sport's profile both at home and abroad with his stable of stars.
But even as the company's international aims continue to grow, Hearn is keen to ensure that their British hotbed of fans remains well-fed with a return to domestic roots.
In an exclusive sit-down with DAZN News, the mercurial supremo toasts Matchroom's success in 2025, profiles the future of their rising stars and reveals their aims for 2026.
DN: It's been a busy 2025 for Matchroom, but there's no stopping you before the year is out. What's the general vibe right now around the sport and the promotion?
EH: "I think boxing in general is continuing to go from strength to strength. We’re finding that every show that we’re doing, we’re selling out, we’re doing big numbers.
"DAZN are doing well. The double-header on October 11 is interesting. We’ve nearly sold eight thousand tickets already in Sheffield for Dave Allen-Arslanbek Makhmudov.
"That is something you’d never expect. The same night, we’ll do ten thousand in Philadelphia for Jaron 'Boots' Ennis, who I think is going to be an absolute animal at 154lbs.
"I think Allen-Makhmudov is going to be a really good fight. There's so much great young quality all around the world too, and that’s something I’m really excited about as well."
DN: We're seeing a sea change, not only in the way we consume boxing, but in how fighters are presented globally. How do you find and nuture talent, old and new?
EH: “There’s been a lot of chatter for a long time on who are the new stars coming through. I think we had such a golden era of British boxing, it’s almost like a bit of a one-off.
"But now, I look at the ones coming through, like Pat Brown, Leo Atang and Tiah-Mai Ayton. It’s all about eighteen to twenty-year-olds, with so many more in America as well.
Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing
"I think our stable globally is exceptional and it's a great time for boxing. Sometimes, finding talent is about knowing the quality of the amateurs, which we do very well with.
"We look at the international teams, the world championships, the European championships, and the Olympic Games. We have signed a lot of fighters out of the Olympics.
"But it's not just that. There's people like Conah Walker, people like that who come through under the radar. George Liddard and Kieron Conway are coming up as well too.
DN: It feels as if there's a return to a greater emphasis on the value of domestic titles, a reappreciation of the Lonsdale Belt. What are your thoughts on these fights?
EH: "They're not only really good domestic fights, but they're also key. You saw it with Jack Rafferty and Mark Chamberlain, and you'll see it again with Conway versus Liddard.
"Those British and Commonwealth fights, we shouldn’t just hide them on undercards. Sometimes, you’ve got to give those fighters a chance to become stars in those fights.
"I think sometimes, the broadcaster wants a big name, but then they will just be fighting against somebody random from the top twenty that nobody has ever heard of before
"But take that versus a domestic war between two decent, rising names. Maybe the winner can go on from that contest, after that classic and become a star in their own right.
Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing
DN: You've already mentioned him once, but Jaron Ennis making the move to super-welterweight is a pretty big deal next month. Can he clean up in another division?
EH: “I think, for me, Boots was fighting at a division that he shouldn't have been. It’s very difficult when you win a world title and realise you shouldn’t be at that weight anymore.
"When you move up, you don’t have a title. So what are you going to do? You have to make the investment, and it might take a fight or two to land the big opponent to face.
"That’s what [next opponent] Uisma Lima is, really. Lima’s a very good fighter. It’s actually a very dangerous fight. But I think that he'll look very good against Lima.
"Then he’ll fight anybody at 154lbs,. Vergil Ortiz Jr. is the fight, but that’s all gone very quiet. We sat in a room with Golden Boy and, let’s said make it happen. We’ll take them all."
DN: Matchroom has gone from strength to strength over the past few years, as one of the leading global promotions. What keeps you involved and pushing forward?
EH: "I'ts just a love for the sport and a love for great fighters. When you get that at the top level, like the Chris-Eubank Jr-Conor Benn fight, it reminds you how great this sport is.
Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing
"I think there’s so much upside. That’s why we took this strategy a few years ago. We’ve always done big British shows. We’re the first UK promoter to start doing that in America.
"Then there’s Mexico, Australia, Saudi Arabia. So many more territories have so much more upside. Boxing has existed there, and has been big there, but there’s a lull.
"There’s talent everywhere. That’s what motivates us. I always say to the DAZN guys that I think Australia has massive potential. I think the talent’s there.
"They’re very similar to us.They love their sport, they love a night out, they love a drink. Why not? We’ve got to keep making that investment in this market.
DN: 2025 has been a banner year, but 2026 is just around the corner. What's the plan for the next twelve months and where do you see Matchroom in a year?
EH: “We want to just probably expand to a few more markets and build the support in the markets we’re in already, keep making those great fights in the UK and in America.
"I think we’ve got a brilliant chance there. A few have lost their TV deal, and fighters are looking to migrate somewhere. I think our American stable in a year will look very different.”
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