Boxing

‘Ashes of boxing’ on the radar as powerbroker Eddie Hearn reveals plan to dominate Australia

Australian boxing fans could be set for a bumper 2025, with the sport’s biggest promoter lining up a raid on the market, including a possible Suncorp Stadium spectacular and an “Ashes”-style event, pitting the country’s best against their English counterparts.

Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn has revealed his plans for Australia in 2025, including the addition of two new fighters to his growing stable.

Three of the four current Australian boxing world champions – Jai Opetaia, Liam Paro and Skye Nicolson – are signed with Matchroom, while George Kambosos, Justis Huni and Conor Wallace are also on the books.

MORE: Jai Opetaia calls for Australia to unite ahead of world title homecoming

Paro and Opetaia are both set to defend their world titles over the next two months, while Wallace and Huni are in action on the same card in Brisbane on December 11.

Hearn wants to keep the momentum going, with plans to hold at least one Australian show in the first quarter of 2025, featuring both Kambosos and Nicolson.

“Australia’s going to be a really important market for us in 2025,” Hearn told Sporting News.

“I look at the depth of the Australian talent that we have now, it’s unbelievable.

“We could do something phenomenal at Suncorp. 

“I could put a five, six world championship fight card on. Every fight a world championship fight. 

“It’s there, it’s there for the taking in Australia.”

Earlier in the year, Matchroom took on rival promoter Queensberry in a head-to-head event which saw five fighters from each promotion face off in Saudi Arabia, a format met positively by fans.

Hearn, himself a cricket fan, flagged his interest in staging an event to coincide with next summer’s home Test series against the old enemy.

“I actually spoke to a lot of the England cricket team and when they told me the Ashes dates, I thought, ‘Why not?’” Hearn said.

“England versus Australia, Ashes of boxing, it would be absolutely epic. 

“Definitely keen to put something together and obviously you’ve got so many English fans there as well, it would be a great night.”

Despite already having some of the country’s best boxers on his roster, Hearn teased there was more yet to come.

“There’s a couple other Australian fighters that we’ll be announcing as new signings as well, on top of that, in the next week or so, could even be the next couple of days,” he said. 

“One is a very well-established name and one is an amateur who has a huge future in front of them.”

Paris Olympic bronze medal winner Charlie Senior recently signed with a UK-based management team and has been touted as a potential star in the pros, although no link up with Matchroom has been confirmed as yet.

While the year may be winding down for many, a busy period looms on the horizon in the Aussie fight game.

Beginning on December 7 in Puerto Rico, IBF super lightweight champion Paro looks to turn back the challenge of undefeated American Richardson Hitchins.

Wallace and Huni step out in Brisbane the following week, before a No Limit Boxing card, headlined by Toese Vousiutu and Stevan Ivic goes down in Sydney on December 13, also featuring an all-Aussie middleweight world title bout between Kaye Scott and Desley Robinson.

Rounding out the year, Sam Goodman challenges for the undisputed super bantamweight title when he takes on the dominant Naoya Inoue in Tokyo on Christmas Eve.

Opetaia, who holds the IBF and The Ring cruiserweight titles, kicks off the new year when he faces his mandatory challenger, Germany’s Huseyin Cinkara, on the Gold Coast on January 8.

While not locked in yet, Hearn said the action will keep on rolling with a card likely to feature both Kambosos and WBC featherweight champion Nicolson.

Down the track, Paro and Kambosos, now in the same division, appear to be on a collision course, with the Englishman happy to facilitate.

“Skye Nicolson, I really want to deliver a homecoming for her, as well,” Hearn said.

“She needs to fight in Australia. It’s [just about] putting it all together.

“Do we go in February and March, [or] do we just go with one card with all of that talent on? Now that sounds good to me.

“I certainly think that George and Skye will definitely land on the same card in Australia and I think you’ll probably end up adding, not just our new signings to that, maybe Justis Huni as well.

“But who’s to say that Paro comes through in style and we don’t look for that fight for March?”

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