Eddie Hearn has criticized Dana White's introduction of the Zuffa Boxing World Cruiserweight Championship, calling it the "cringiest shit" he's ever seen. The Matchroom Boxing boss questioned the legitimacy of a promotional championship belt in an interview with iFL TV.
The Zuffa Boxing World Cruiserweight Championship will be contested between Jai Opetaia (29-0, 23 KOs), the IBF and Ring cruiserweight champion, and Brandon Glanton (21-3, 18 KOs) on March 8 at Zuffa Boxing 04. The IBF and Ring belts are not on the line for Opetaia vs. Glanton. The event will take place at Meta APEX in Las Vegas and will be available on Paramount+. Opetaia signed with Zuffa Boxing last month and is making his U.S. debut.
Hearn's Critique of Zuffa Boxing
Hearn mocked the idea of a promotional championship belt, questioning its validity compared to established boxing titles. He stated,
That is the cringiest shit I’ve ever seen. You know I would never do that, but I was just laughing because I was reading about, whenever it is, Jai Opetaia fighting Brandon Glanton for the Zuffa championship of the world, and I was thinking, ‘Do you know what? I could just do that.’ That would be quite amusing. Why don’t we do an iFL one as well?
Zuffa Boxing does not recognize sanctioning bodies but acknowledges The Ring rankings; Glanton is No. 10 in The Ring cruiserweight rankings.
Dana White confirmed via livestream that, "Whoever wins this fight will be our first world champion."