Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn wants to put together a deal for a unification contest between IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias and WBA champ Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz this year.
Hearn states that the hurdles that must be overcome for the Cruz-Matias fight are Matias (20-1-1, 15 KOs) winning his title defense this summer against Liam Paro on June 15th and putting together a cross-promotion, joint-network deal with Premier Boxing Champions, Amazon, and DAZN.
Interestingly, Hearn made no mention of his fighter, Richardson Hitchins, who won a highly controversial 12-round unanimous decision last Saturday night against Gustavo Lemos in an IBF light-welterweight unification fight in Las Vegas to become Matias’ mandatory.
Matias Must First Overcome Paro
“If Subriel Matias beats Liam Paro, which is a really good fight, I think we should make Pitbull vs. Matias in a unification fight,” said Eddie Hearn to the media last night about his plans for a big unification fight between IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias and WBA champ Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.
Obstacles For Cruz-Matias Unification
- The Liam Paro Title Fight: IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias must defeat unbeaten contender Liam Paro on June 15th to face Isaac Cruz later this year. Paro will be a tough foe for Matias to beat, and it’s not a given he gets through this guy.
- A Cross-Network Agreement: Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn hopes for a co-promotion between his company and Al Haymon’s PBC to make Cruz-Matias happen. If successful, the match would be shown on Amazon Prime and DAZN on PPV
- Mexico vs. Puerto Rico: Cruz vs. Matias is a clash between two fighters from different nationalities, which would create a tremendous amount of interest.
- Financial Considerations: Hearn says, “With Matias and Pitbull, I would let the fighters split the money for the fight.”
Cruz vs. Matias Potential Co-promotion for Matchup
“I’m going to go to Luis Decubis, and hopefully, he goes to Al Haymon and says, ‘Do you want to do that fight?” You’ve got the model in place. You can do it on Prime. It can be distributed on DAZN as well. You’ve got Mexico vs. Puerto Rico in a unification.”
PBC boss Al Haymon will need to agree to collaborate for the Cruz vs. Matias fight to work. Some believe Haymon wants to do the rematch between Cruz and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, so he’ll reject Hearn’s offer because he won’t want to put ‘Pitbull’ in a risky fight and ruin his chances for a lucrative rematch.
“That is a hell of a fight. It’s an easy fight to make. Teofimo wants 15 to 20 million for those kinds of fights, but only if someone wants to make a hurdle,” said hearn.
“With Matias and Pitbull, I would let the fighters split the money for the fight. I wonder if Haymon will go for it. It would be great for boxing,” said Hearn.
