Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is set to announce the signing of several boxers at a news conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in New York in conjunction with his recently announced deal with the all-sports streaming service DAZN, and junior welterweight world titleholder Maurice Hooker is poised to be one of them.
Dino Duva of Roc Nation Sports, Hooker’s promoter, told ESPN on Sunday that he and Hearn are in the process of finalizing a deal for Hearn to come onboard as Hooker’s co-promoter and that Hooker would appear on Hearn’s new series of American-based fight cards that will stream on DAZN.
“If all goes according to plan, we’ll get this deal done before Tuesday,” Duva said. “We’re waiting for a draft of the agreement to come in, but we would be doing a co-promotion between Roc Nation Sports and Matchroom, and Maurice would be on the DAZN shows.”
On June 9, Hooker (24-0-3, 16 KOs), 28, of Dallas, won a split decision over former lightweight world titlist Terry Flanagan to claim a vacant 140-pound world title in Flanagan’s hometown of Manchester, England.
Hooker is due to next face Oklahoma City’s Alex Saucedo (28-0, 18 KOs), 24, in a mandatory defense this fall, probably in October. Duva and Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Saucedo’s promoter, have been in discussions for a two-fight deal that would include the Saucedo bout as a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN main event followed by an early-2019 world title unification fight with Jose Ramirez, should Hooker retain his title against Saucedo and should Ramirez keep his belt in a Sept. 14 defense scheduled against Antonio Orozco.
However, Duva said that once Hearn came to him a few days ago and Hooker was briefed on both deals, it was clear the Hearn offer was superior.
“It was a pretty quick and easy negotiation back and forth,” Duva said. “It’s a good deal for us, and Maurice said that he liked the offer better than the other one.”
Duva said Hooker will still go ahead with the mandatory fight with Saucedo, but it remains to be seen if he and Arum can make a deal for the one bout or if it will go to a purse bid. If it goes to a purse bid, Hooker’s side is entitled to 75 percent of the winning bid, making it far easier for his side to win it. If Hooker’s side wins a bid, the fight would go on one of Hearn’s DAZN cards. If Top Rank were to win a purse bid, the fight would be on one of Top Rank’s ESPN cards.
“I’ve been talking to Bob, and I told him this deal with Eddie is for a lot more money than we were talking about for the deal with Top Rank,” Duva said. “Bob said, ‘If you’re getting that much more money, do the deal and we’ll still do the Saucedo fight.’ Bob was good about it. He understands.”
As Hooker aims to get the deal done, he is also facing misdemeanor charges for drunk driving and unlawful handgun possession stemming from an early-morning traffic stop in Dallas this past Tuesday.
In May, DAZN and Hearn announced an eight-year, $1 billion deal — only two years of which are guaranteed — for the all-sports streaming service, which is available in several countries but won’t launch in the United States until the fall, to stream Matchroom Boxing cards. It will stream Matchroom’s U.S. events, as well as its slate of fights that take place in the United Kingdom.
At the news conference, DAZN said it will announce the pricing of the service and the early Matchroom Boxing schedule, which is expected to kick off Sept. 22 with the expected fight between unified heavyweight world titlist Anthony Joshua and mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium in London.
Hearn is also expected to announce the signing of other fighters to his stable who would appear on DAZN; among them are middleweight contender and former two-time junior middleweight world titlist Demetrius Andrade (25-0, 16 KOs), who recently became a promotional free agent after buying out co-promoters Banner Promotions and Star Boxing, and light heavyweight titlist Artur Beterbiev (12-0, 12 KOs), whom Hearn has entered into a co-promotional deal with Yvon Michel for the next three fights. Beterbiev is due to make his first title defense against mandatory challenger Callum Johnson (17-0, 12 KOs), a Matchroom Boxing-promoted fighter, on Oct. 6 on a DAZN card.