Eddie Hearn says he doesn’t think people will watch the level of fighters competing in promoter Dana White’s new Saudi-funded Zuffa Boxing league. The type of fighters Dana expects to sign are prospects that he’ll be putting in 50-50 fights, with the idea of transforming them into stars while competing for the Zuffa and Ring belts.
No Legacy in Mickey Mouse Belts
It’s believed the new league will be after Dana White’s Contender Series in MMA. It’s been successful for White. Dana’s new Zuffa Boxing league will be shown on Paramount with 12 cards per year. Some of the events will be displayed on CBS as well.
Matchroom promoter Hearn doesn’t see this idea working for White because the top fighters won’t want to fight for his league unless he pays them big money. He doesn’t believe Dana will do that. However, even if he does sign some big-name talent, people won’t be thrilled to watch them obliterate the prospects that will permeate his Zuffa league.
“The Zuffa belt, for me, is a belt that no boxer has any interest in at all. The legacy and the history come through the organizations [IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO]. They want to win the [established historical] belts,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to The Stomping Ground, giving his thoughts on Dana White’s ideas for his Zuffa Boxing league in 2026, along with the belts his fighters will be competing for.
Minor League Fighters, Major League Hype
White’s new league will be seen by many casual boxing fans on Paramount and CBS. With the huge advertising money that the Saudis will pour into it, people will hear about the fights.
Even if it involves obscure fighters and those lacking the talent to compete with fighters outside of Zuffa Boxing, fans will want to see these matches. However, transforming those fighters into stars will be difficult, if not impossible.
Fans Can Spot Marginal Talent
Unlike MMA, fans want to see elite fighters, and they can easily tell when someone is marginal. We saw a lot of that with the undercard that was packaged with the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford event. The only fighters that showed ability on the undercard were the Christian Mbilli vs. Lester Martinez fight. Those guys aren’t prospects and won’t be part of Dana’s Zuffa league.
Whether Dana White’s league succeeds could come down to whether the Saudis are willing to fund it for 10 to 20 years, as it may take that long for it to catch on. Wiser minds might see it as an idea that was doomed from the start. With the Saudi’s money, they don’t need a league to put on great fights. They can work within the current system. A new boxing league sounds like a desperate, poorly thought-out idea. Surprisingly, the Saudis are going along with this.
“I don’t think it [the Zuffa belt] means a royal beans in boxing. I think it devalues what you’re trying to do because you’re creating a brand-new Mickey Mouse belt out of nowhere that has no legacy, no history, and no standing within the game. Their argument is, ‘Within time, that belt will be like the WBC.’ I don’t believe so,’ said Hearn.
Zuffa Boxing Doomed From the Start?
It’s going to be very hard for the New Zuffa league to succeed while promoters are putting on excellent cards with superior talent on DAZN and Amazon. Fans will see the fighters on the Zuffa Boxing League as minor league talents and will ignore them. Eventually, the Sauds could see this as a waste of money and forget about it.
Hearn points out that fighters like Shakur Stevenson, Teofimo Lopez, and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis wouldn’t go for the idea of giving up on fighting for their belts to compete for a Zuffa belt. He doesn’t see them doing that unless Dana White pays them a huge amount of money. Hearn states that “never going to happen.” It would defeat the purpose of the new league to do it on the cheap.
Last Updated on 10/03/2025
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