Hearn the disruptor and sweet science war rages on: What we learned from boxing last week

Another week in the world of boxing has been and gone, and the big stories kept on coming.  

Matchroom's Eddie Hearn raised eyebrows with a new signing, while boxing politics overshadowed Jai Opetaia's debut with Zuffa Boxing. 

There is also the small matter of a Misfits fighter calling out an Olympic silver medalist. 

DAZN News picks out the biggest stories from the last week in boxing. 

Eddie Hearn signs UFC champion Tom Apsinall to Matchroom Talent Agency

After Conor Benn departed Matchroom for Zuffa Boxing, everyone was awaiting Eddie Hearn's response? 

He did so in some fashion, signing UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall to the newly created Matchroom Talent Agency. 

The purpose of Hearn's deal with Aspinall is to make the latter a major sporting superstar, but what makes this partnership more intriguing is Aspinall's return to the Octagon and what part Hearn will play when it comes to negotiations. 

IBF title strip overshadows Jai Opetaia's Zuffa debut

Sunday marked a major moment in the sport with Dana White's Zuffa Boxing staging their first title fight. 

It featured Jai Opetaia, the world's number one cruiserweight, taking on Brandon Glanton for the Zuffa cruiserweight title. 

While Opetaia's IBF world title belt featured in the fight week events, such as the press conference, the governing body announced two days before the bout that they would be stripping Opetaia, as it did not recognise Zuffa's newly created world title. 

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The IBF were also disappointed in how their specific belt was being displayed. 

This decision was the first move in a war between boxing's traditional powers and Zuffa Boxing, with the latter's founder Dana White declaring his desire to not work with the sport's sanctioning bodies. 

As Zuffa continues to stage events and sign premium talent, it will be interesting to see how this latest instalment of boxing politics plays out. 

Ty Mitchell calls out Olympian Whittaker

If there is one thing that I didn't expect on my boxing bingo card, it was Misfits light heavyweight champion Ty Mitchell calling out Olympic silver medallist Ben Whittaker. 

After beating Gabe Rosado on Saturday night, Mitchell took to the microphone and called out Whittaker, who is being touted as one of British boxing's next big stars. 

While a Mitchell-Whittaker fight is very unlikely to happen, it would be an intriguing meeting, especially in the build-up, with both men not afraid to express themselves away from the ring. 

WBC champion Dalton Smith given mandatory order 

With the dust having settled on Dalton Smith's win over WBC super lightweight champion Subriel Matias, his future is beginning to look a little bit clearer. 

A date in the summer is looking likely for Smith's next fight, and it will be against mandatory challenger Alberto Puello. 

The WBC ordered Smith to face his mandatory challenger last week, and now the two camps have a month to make a deal. If this proves to be unsuccessful, the fight will go to purse bids. 

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