Eddie Hearn Wants To Follow UFC Model, Too Many Belts ‘Not Good For Boxing At All’

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn wants boxing to follow the model of the UFC.

The sport of boxing is currently plagued with a number of belts in each weight class and it’s even more so the case with the addition of the WBC franchise belt.

Future Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather notably claimed there were too many belts in boxing in a recent interview and Hearn is in complete agreement as he wants to implement the UFC’s model by having just one title per weight class.

“We do [have too many belts]. That’s a given. It’s not good for boxing at all,” Hearn told Sky Sports (via Boxing Scene). “You look at the UFC model, which we’re all very envious of, which is one promotional company, if you like, and one belt. That’s where I want to get to in boxing.

“It’s going to take a lot of work, but we’re putting a blueprint together for that and it’s something we’re going to be pushing hard for in 2021 as we continue to expand.”

Of course, each governing body in boxing has a long history with the sport and Hearn cannot ignore that.

That said, he believes having things like a franchise belt in addition to mandatory title defenses are only detriments to both young fighters as well as the big champions respectively such as his own fighter Anthony Joshua.

“What we do have to understand is that belts do matter,” Hearn added. “These governing bodies are steeped in history … so we can’t forget that. The [WBC] Franchise situation, for me, was a terrible move for the WBC, and I love [WBC president] Mauricio Sulaiman. He’s a friend of mine, but I just have to be honest. The problem with [the Franchise title] is that [Franchise champions] are the untouchables. We can’t have that many barriers to greatness … You have to give these young fighters and lions the opportunity to try and achieve greatness by chasing guys down.

“Mandatories are a pain for big champions. We need competitive mandatories. I wish sometimes Anthony Joshua didn’t have to have a mandatory.”

For now, Joshua — currently holding the WBA, IBF, WBO and WBO heavyweight titles — has his mandatory in Kubrat Pulev who he will face on December 12. After that, we could finally see the highly-anticipated title unification clash with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

And maybe having one undisputed champion could potentially lead to having just one belt in the heavyweight division.

Would you like to see one belt per division in boxing similar to the UFC?