Promoter Eddie Hearn wants to work with Al Haymon of PBC to put together a unification fight between light welterweight champions Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz and Subriel Matias. This would be a co-promotion fight with Amazon Prime and DAZN showing it on PPV.
Matias Must Overcome Paro First
First, Matias (20-1-1, 20 KOs) must win his IBF title defense against Liam Paro (24-0, 15 KOs) on June 15th on DAZN at the Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu, Manati, Puerto Rico.
As Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn points out, this isn’t a sure-thing win for Matias against the unbeaten Paro.
Assuming Matias, 31, comes through, Hearn says he wants to speak with PBC to put together a unification fight between him and WBA 140-lb champion ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs), who is coming off a knockout win over Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero last Saturday night.
“That is a thrilling fight,” Hearn said to Tru School Sports about the Pitbull Cruz vs. Surbriel Matias fight.
Potential Roadblock
- Network Rivalries: For this joint broadcast to work, Amazon Prime and DAZN would need to agree to share the Matias vs. Cruz event, which wouldn’t be ideal for either, given that it’s not a mega-fight.
- Fighter Alignments: Cruz is with PBC and fights with their new broadcast partner, Amazon, whereas Matias is with Matchroom, and his bouts are streamed on DAZN.
- Haymon’s Stance: PBC boss Al Haymon will need to be open to working with Matchroom in a joooint event. If Haymon insists the fight only be shown on Amazon, it won’t work.
Hearn’s Realistic Outlook
“The thing with Al Haymon, if he wants something, he’s going to deal with you. If he doesn’t want to,” said Hearn about PBC boss Al Haymon. “How good is that fight [Cruz vs. Matias]?
“Firstly, he [Matias] has to beat Liam Paro. That’s a really good fight. I feel a bit bad for Paro because everyone is talking about, ‘Subriel, the boogeyman of the division, the most brutal.’ Liam can really fight.
“If Subriel were to win, Subriel Matias against Isaac Cruz is an absolute thriller. Mexico vs. Puerto Rico. Do you know how easy it is for me to go to PBC. I don’t know if they have Cruz wrapped up.I would say, ‘Let’s do a co-promotion. It’s on Amazon Prime and on DAZN.
“It’s not a massive PPV, but it’s going to do a good gate, a good crowd. We’ll share the PPV revenue for the fighters. I just don’t think [PBC will do it], unless they get to the point where they have to start doing it.”
