Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn wants to organize a unification fight between IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias and WBA champ Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz in a joint-promotion, dual-platform event.
Hearn will have to work with Al Haymon of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) to make it a reality, and he wants to try. He says Haymon doesn’t work with outside promoters unless he wants to, and he’s unsure if he will.
It’s important for Pitbull Cruz’s career that Haymon allows him to fight the other champions at 140, who aren’t aligned with his PBC company, because he will miss out on many great fights.
Champions at 140:
- Subriel Matias – IBF [DAZN]
- Teofimo Lopez – WBO [ESPN]
- Devin Haney – WBC [DAZN]
“If Subriel were to win, Subriel Matias against Isaac Cruz is an absolute thriller,” said Hearn to Tru School Sports. “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.
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If Hearn and Haymon can work together on the Cruz vs. Matias fight, it would create a lot of fan interest and it would be one that would have a lot of compelling action.
This is a much better fight on paper than the April 20th one between Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia because Pitbull Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) and IBF champ Matias would be trying to score knockouts from round one.
Matias still has to successfully defend his IBF title against Liam Paro on June 15th in their fight in Puerto Rico. If Matias wins that fight and if PBC boss Haymon allows him to face Cruz, we could have a mega-fight. Hearn doesn’t see it as a big PPV match, but he thinks it’ll do decent numbers.
