Eddie Hearn is talking up a fight that would finally give Teremoana Teremoana a serious professional test, backing his unbeaten heavyweight to beat Bakhodir Jalolov despite two amateur defeats against the Uzbek southpaw.
After Jalolov’s decision win over Solomon Dacres on Saturday’s Daniel Dubois–Fabio Wardley rematch card, Hearn posted a blunt verdict on his Instagram story:
“@TEREMOANA_REP WOULD EAT UP JALOLOV”
That is a bold claim about a fighter who has already beaten Teremoana at the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Jalolov won their Olympic quarterfinal 5–0 before going on to collect his second gold medal.
Hearn may have seen something against Dacres that makes him confident. Jalolov scored a knockdown but went the distance, giving his critics another reason to question whether his professional career will match his amateur success.
However, Dacres lasting the distance does not tell us that Teremoana would walk through Jalolov. The Australian would still have to get past the 6-foot-7 southpaw’s long punches and land without being caught coming forward. He has already experienced how difficult that can be over three rounds.
At 28, Teremoana needs opponents who can ask those questions. His 12–0 record, with every win inside the distance, looks impressive on paper, but his professional opposition has offered little evidence of how he handles someone with Jalolov’s skills.
There is some context to his career’s slow progress. Teremoana returned to amateur boxing after winning his first four professional fights to pursue an Olympic place. He has not spent the entire period since turning professional working toward a world title.
Still, another quick knockout against an overmatched opponent would tell us less than a fight with Jalolov. What happens if Teremoana’s power cannot get him out of trouble? Can he keep applying pressure when he has to work through jabs and straight lefts to get close?
Hearn’s post does not mean a deal is coming. But he has supplied a good reason to pursue one. If he believes Teremoana would “eat up” Jalolov, making the fight would give his heavyweight the chance to prove it.
Claiming Teremoana would eat him up ignores history. Teremoana could not solve Jalolov over three rounds in Tashkent, and he could not solve him over three rounds in Paris. Jalolov swept him five to zero at the Olympics by maintaining range, switching off the back foot, and drilling him with straight lefts every time the Australian lunged.
Adding extra rounds does not magically fix poor footwork or defensive leaks. If Teremoana charges in recklessly, he walks straight into a 6’7″ sniper who rarely misses incoming targets.
Hearn finds himself backed into a corner regarding matchmaking. Teremoana is 28. The six-year gap since his pro debut was eaten up by the detour back to the unpaid ranks for Paris, leaving him with an empty 12-0 record against club fighters and regional journeymen. Hearn cannot keep serving up this type of opposition on DAZN undercards without turning the Australian into an expensive prospect who never generates revenue.
Putting Teremoana in with Jalolov is high risk with no margin for error. A third loss to the exact same rival destroys Teremoana’s commercial momentum before it even starts. Hearn needs to decide whether he is testing a genuine contender or sacrificing a raw asset against a stylistic nightmare just to get attention on social media.