Tevin Farmer’s junior lightweight world title victory earlier this month came at the perfect time.
He is one of the beneficiaries of the money flooding the boxing market thanks to Top Rank — because of its ESPN deal — and Matchroom Boxing USA — with its DAZN deal — seeking to sign as many top fighters as they can to fill slots on their numerous upcoming shows.
Farmer and promoter Lou DiBella were close to a doing a co-promotional deal with Top Rank, but they ended up doing a multifight deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing USA this week that will see Farmer make his first title defense against James Tennyson on Oct. 20 on the DAZN card headlined by Billy Joe Saunders’ middleweight world title defense against Demetrius Andrade at the TD Garden in Boston.
Farmer (26-4-1, 5 KOs), a 28-year-old southpaw from Philadelphia, traveled to Billy Dib’s home turf in Sydney, Australia, and rolled to a one-sided decision to claim a vacant 130-pound belt on Aug. 3. This week, Farmer signed a deal with Hearn that will see him earn more in just a few fights than he has earned in all of his career fights combined.
“Winning that belt after everything I’ve been through brought me indescribable joy,” Farmer said this week after signing the contract. “I always felt that I was a true champion. I just had to go over to Australia, capture the title and prove it, and I did just that. I came home a champion and celebrated, but I got right back in the gym.
“I want to be an active champion and defend my title. That’s why I’m so thrilled about this deal. It’s a pleasure to work with both DiBella Entertainment and Matchroom Boxing USA, and I know that with us working together, big things are going to happen. Ultimately, my goal is to get all the belts and I’ll do whatever it takes. I’m open to fighting anybody to unify. I’m looking forward to showing the world who Tevin Farmer is and what I can do.”
Said DiBella: “Through all of Tevin’s hard work, heart and determination, he overcame the odds, achieved his dream, and now he can enjoy the fruits of his labor. This is a great deal that will help progress Tevin’s career as he begins his championship reign. Starting with his first title defense in October, Tevin will stay active as we work toward getting him the biggest and most meaningful fights available.”
Hearn was pleased to add another world titleholder to his roster.
“Tevin Farmer has a great story, but more importantly to me, the man can really fight,” he said. “He showed great heart to bounce back from that shocking decision in Las Vegas and go to Australia to win the title — and now the world is his oyster.”
Farmer lost a highly controversial decision to Kenichi Ogawa in December for a vacant belt, but when Ogawa tested positive for a banned substance after the bout, he was stripped and suspended. Then Farmer defeated Dib for the vacant title.
Hearn said if Farmer defeats Tennyson (22-2, 18 KOs), 25, of Northern Ireland, he hopes to line up a unification fight for him, though that could be difficult because the other titleholders are with different promoters and broadcast platforms.
“We have a great fight lined up for him in October, but the ultimate focus is [titlist] Gervonta [Davis] and other unifications,” Hearn said. “We are going to keep him nice and busy, and we look forward to working with Tevin and Lou on this exciting journey.”
Those plans are just what Farmer wants.
“I’ve worked really hard to get to this point and now we’re going to get these big fights, but I have to take care of business with James Tennyson first,” he said. “James is a proud, tenacious and worthy challenger for my belt. I know James is going to be hungry to take my title, but there’s no way I’m going to let it go. I want to prove that I am the king in this division. I don’t need to fight the other champions. I want to fight them, no talk. I want to handle my business and I want these guys to meet me; I want Gervonta.”