Eddie Hearn believes Top Rank never intended to match Xander Zayas against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, claiming the unbeaten Puerto Rican champion forced the fight by insisting he wanted the challenge.
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Hearn has repeatedly described Ennis as boxing’s next superstar, but said the fight almost never happened because Top Rank would not have chosen him as an opponent.”
While Hearn has repeatedly backed Ennis to win, he also praised Zayas for accepting a fight many promoters would have avoided.
“If Xander Zayas is in your stable, do you put him in this fight? No, but nor would Top Rank,” Hearn told Radio Rahim.
“It was the fact… obviously, the DAZN connection kind of makes a big difference. If Top Rank was still with ESPN, there is no way they would allow this fight.
“But they want to make great fights. And when their fighter says to them, ‘I want the fight,’ you can’t really say no.
“This isn’t a fight they would have gone to him and gone, ‘What about fighting Boots Ennis?’ Because everybody knows how good Boots is.”
Hearn said Ennis’ reputation inside the sport has never been in doubt, arguing the Philadelphia native simply hasn’t had enough opportunities against elite opponents.
“You never hear anyone say, ‘The guy’s overrated. The guy’s not the real deal.’ It’s just that he hasn’t had the chance. Outside of the Stanionis fight, who’s number one in the division, to show his true greatness,” said Hearn.
Zayas (23-0, 13 KOs) defends his unified WBA and WBO junior middleweight championships against Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs), who enters his second fight at 154 pounds after dispatching Uisma Lima inside a round last October.
Hearn believes Saturday’s fight will finally give Ennis the opportunity to prove why, in his view, Top Rank never wanted Zayas sharing the ring with him
Last Updated on 2026/06/26 at 6:17 PM
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