Eddie Hearn is over the moon about the fan reaction to the announced December 9th fight between Devin Haney and WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis on DAZN PPV at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
If the fans are this excited about the fight now, they’ll be more willing to purchase it once the price is revealed.
Hearn recently brought Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) back to Matchroom, and he’s hoping his fight with Prograis (29-1,24KOs) will be a huge success on DAZN PPV. We’ll see.
Thus far, fans are complaining like mad on social media, saying the Haney-Prograis fight isn’t a PPV-worthy fight, and they don’t want to pay to see this contest.
In the eyes of fans, Haney should have stayed at 135 and given Lomachenko a well-deserving rematch after his questionable win over him last May and then defended against his WBC mandatory Shakur Stevenson instead of moving up to 140 to face Prograis.
Devin back with Matchroom
“He’s back with us for now, for this fight and with some matching options as well,” said Eddie Hearn to Secondsout’s channel about Devin Haney back with Matchroom Boxing.
“He’s always made it clear to me, and I respect Devin, that he never wanted to leave Matchroom, but he had to get that undisputed shot, but when he left, he said, ‘I promise you, I’ll be back soon,’ and I thought, ‘Yeah, yeah,’ and straight away, he’s back with us after that contract.
“So yeah, I’m pleased with that, but I’m also pleased for Regis Prograis, that’s the guy who signed a multi-fight deal with us who I said, ‘I promised, I’ll deliver you the big fights, I’ll deliver you the big money,’ and we’ve done it straight away.”
If Haney loses this fight to Prograis, it’s going to be interesting to see which direction Hearn takes him. He recently signed 140-lb contender Richardson Hitchins to Matchroom, and he might be a good option for Haney if he loses to Prograis. Haney & Richardson share a similar fighting style with a heavy emphasis on jabbing, clinching & potshots.
“He had that run-out fight in New Orleans [against Danielito Zorrilla], and he’s ready for a mega-fight, and the mega-fight comes in Devin Haney, the undisputed lightweight world champion,” said Hearn about the 34-year-old Prograis.
Massive interest in Haney vs. Prograis
“It’s a brilliant fight. The reaction last night was fantastic and, like I said, part of a massive schedule for us, particularly in December,” said Hearn about the Haney vs. Prograis fight. “Even when we brought Devin over 4 or 5 fights ago, the UK fans were all over him.”
If PBC winds up signing with DAZN, Hearn will have a lot of options for appealing fights for Haney, Prograisand his Matchroom stable fighters. It’ll be interesting to see if DAZN would be willing to keep Matchroom, Golden Boy & PBC on their network without giving up on one of them to cut costs.
“He’s got millions of followers on Instagram, he’s a superstar, he’s just beaten Lomachenko,” said Hearn. “I know it was a close fight. He’s coming off two wins against Kambosos in Australia for the undisputed, so this guy is a fantastic talent. He’s a huge draw and a big name. We take him home now to the Bay Area in San Francisco for the first time.
“There hasn’t been a major fight there for a long time. I think there’ll be a great crowd there. Devin Haney, you’ve got to respect him, the undisputed lightweight world champion, now looking to become a two-division champion, going against Regis Prograis.
“It’s a very, very tough fight, and like I said, it’s gone down so well, and I can’t wait for another huge show,” said Hearn.