Eddie Hearn's Matchroom reportedly suing fellow boxing promotion over fighter contract
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing is reportedly throwing legal jabs at Ben Shalom's BOXXER and Sky Sports in the high court, with light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi's contract at the center of the ring.
While the exact details of the lawsuit remain under wraps, Matchroom claims they exercised their matching rights to retain Buatsi, a claim the fighter refutes. Additionally, the involvement of controversial boxing manager Mazhar Majeed during negotiations while Buatsi was still with Matchroom may become a point of contention.
Check out the initial report by @everythingboxing below:
This legal tussle stems from Buatsi's decision in March 2023 to leave Matchroom, his long-time home, for BOXXER. After an undefeated 16-fight run under Matchroom, Buatsi felt his demands were not being met and opted for the change.
Eddie Hearn weighs in on potential boxing heavyweight world title fight for Francis Ngannou
Despite Francis Ngannou's impressive debut against Tyson Fury and subsequent entry into the WBC's top 10 rankings, boxing kingpin Eddie Hearn believes the MMA champion has little chance of capturing a world title in the pugilistic realm.
In a recent interview with Seconds Out, Hearn cast doubt on Ngannou's ability to compete for a world title, stating:
"It's very difficult because in my opinion, Francis Ngannou can get beaten by anybody in the top 100."
While acknowledging Ngannou's performance against Fury as a "credit to him," Hearn believes it was more a reflection of Fury's dip in form than Ngannou's boxing prowess:
"His mind wasn't there, I think he has regressed as a fighter. You have to give credit to Ngannou. But what I'm saying is, if I'm Ngannou now - when you say, 'Is he going to be a force in the heavyweight division?' - He's only really thinking about the Fury rematch, or [fighting] Joshua or Wilder. Because he could lose to anybody. And he's not gonna risk it for $5 million or $10 million. He has to cash in in the big one. So you're not gonna see him compete."
Check out Eddie Hearn's comments below (9:18):