On 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 “Boots” Ennis.
In a sport famously crippled by protective promoters and fragmented networks, this fight represents a rare alignment of the stars—and 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’s edge in front of a hostile East Coast crowd.
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.
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?
Eddie Hearn: Yeah, I mean, obviously, you—you always just want to win. That’s—that’s the first and foremost. But I—I just feel like Boots is potentially the—the number one guy in boxing. Like pound-for-pound. But you can have pound-for-pound ability, if you don’t have a pound-for-pound resume, it doesn’t 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—the method of victory is really important in terms of the statement that you’re making.
And I’ve got to say both guys, I’ve 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’m still trying to get my head round the fact they’ve even taken this fight. So I’ve got to give him unbelievable credit.
I was really interested to see the Roy Jones/Andre Ward chat where, you know, Andre Ward, who’s probably a little bit more strategical with his career, was like, “Why—why is he taking this fight?” And Roy Jones is like, “It’s what you do. Like, you—you’re a unified world champion. You think you’re the best in the division, fight the guy that other people are thinking’s the best in the division.” So we need to thank—I mean both guys, but particularly Zayas for giving us this incredible fight. 23 years old, 28 years old—these guys are the future of the sport. And if Jaron does what I think he’s going to do on Saturday, I think the whole world will be saying this is the new king of boxing for the foreseeable.
You mentioned that it’s 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’re confident in his abilities, but from you as both a fan of him and a businessman, what does that feel like for you?
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—they want that, and I love working with people like that.
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, “Wow, what a signing. Yeah, but what’s Matchroom going to do with him? How are they going to move him?” And then we fight Avanesyan, and then all of a sudden the IBF put a mandatory on us, and it’s the same guy that he’s already beaten. And it’s like, fuck, you know. And then it’s like, “Oh, Matchroom, they can’t get him the big fights.”
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’t deliver it and we’re in trouble because we have to land him a big fight.
I have to give unbelievable props to Zayas because Top Rank didn’t really want this fight. They’re very, very good in strategically moving their fighters. They know the risk. But I think Zayas goes, “No, no, no, I want Boots. I will beat him.” So he’s 23 years old, he’s a superstar of the sport, and he’s choosing to fight the best in the division. He deserves unbelievable props.
As a business, when that gets signed, it’s like massive—this is the fight that could turn Boots into the star that we think he really is. Then you’ve got Philly, you’ve got Puerto Rico, the Barclays Center—right now we are at 12,000 already, like we’re going to end up 15,000 in there. It’s going to be completely rocked out. So as a business, it’s really important because it’s very competitive at the moment in the space. You’ve got DAZN flying, they’ve got a lot of promoters on there. You’ve 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.
What’s even more gold is I know that people tuning in on DAZN or people buying a ticket will see a brilliant fight. Because that’s the difference. A lot of these pound-for-pound guys, they’re very good technical fighters, they’ve got good footwork, but let’s 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—this can only be an electric fight. So it’s a big, big moment for us and, you know, obviously even bigger if Boots can get the job done.
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’s just be honest about it. What was the exact turning point in negotiations where you and Bob Arum were like, “Okay, we can do this”?
Well, two things, I think. I think number one is Xander’s insistence to make this fight. And number two is definitely Top Rank’s 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.
But when they moved to DAZN, we’re all on one platform. DAZN obviously said to them, “Look, we love Boots against Xander Zayas.” Xander Zayas said, “I want the fight.” So Top Rank don’t really have a lot of choice. Now, I’m not saying they were begging him not to take it, but they’re very strategic, Top Rank. I’ve lost a lot of fights to Top Rank because I like to put my guys in the big fights, big moments—let’s find out how good we are. But they don’t really do that. So that’s why Zayas deserves so much credit because he said, “No, I want Boots. I can beat him.” And they were like, “Well, okay. We’re in.” So yeah, the co-promotion’s been really good and I feel like that DAZN platform’s been so good in breaking down those barriers because promoters are working together.
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’s 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?
Yeah, he’s not doing the same kind of things as he used to do because the level has really improved now with the opponents, so there’s 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’s a hell of a fighter. This TikTok stuff, the Instagram numbers, the crazy following that he has—that’s one thing, and that’s a blessing because it allows you to create opportunities and make money. I look at him—I’m 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’s ever produced, he is an elite talent. I said recently, if Whittaker doesn’t become certainly world champion, but unified or undisputed, we haven’t really done our job because he’s that good.
Now, you throw that in with the fact that this guy just gets it on every level: marketing, promotion, kit, apparel, content—everything. Then you throw in Andy Lee, you throw in the preparation—we’re really in a good place right now with Ben Whittaker.
The performance is everything. So if you come to America and it’s a bit boring and you’re 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’s massive. And that’s what we need from Ben, and he’s been doing that. Lately, he’s been stepping up the opposition against guys that were supposed to give him rounds, and he destroyed the last one in a round. He’s punching really hard, I think Rivera is a really solid test for him. He’s 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’s a superstar in the making globally, and a phenomenal fighter.
Let’s 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’s been approaching the ones before this?
I just feel like with Boots, boxing is his entire life. He’s a gym rat. If you look at his family, obviously his dad’s his trainer, he’s got his brothers in the gym—boxing and the gym is their entire life. You don’t 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.
That is your moment, and that’s why he’s so excited. I feel like he’s like, “Do 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.” Sometimes when you work with a fighter—Bam’s the same, to be fair—it’s 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’re just like, “You ain’t losing.” Shakur’s the same, to be honest with you. But it’s like you have so much belief, you’re just like, you ain’t losing.
That’s 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 “Boots” Ennis is. That’s what I expect. I don’t 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’s not in with a mug, he in with a great fighter that’s got a lot of heart, so roll on Saturday night.
