Matchroom’s 2025 schedule kicks off with a bang, as popular Australian champion Jai Opetaia defends his IBF Cruiserweight title against David Nyika on January 8.
That fight will get the ball rolling for what should be a massive year for Australian boxing, with promoter Eddie Hearn teasing that it won’t be long before we see a ‘Ferocious’ return.
Eddie Hearn offers major update on George Kambosos Jr’s next fight
In November, it was announced that George Kambosos Jr had signed a co-promotional deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, DiBella Entertainment, and Ferocious Promotions.
Not only did Kambosos Jr sign on Matchroom’s dotted line, but he also confirmed that he would be moving up to 140lbs so that he can achieve “continued success and the legacy I want to leave in the sport of boxing.”
The popular Aussie would then tease via the Ariel x Ade Boxing Show that his next fight would arrive sometime in February 2025 as he targets a quick ascent to title contention.
“We have a great fight; I’m looking forward to making a statement at 140 moving up a division… Then I’m sure there will be a world title fight mid-year to 2025.”
We have some names, we have some good names, guys inside the top 10… I’ll come into the 140 division, get my feet wet and I will take on a guy inside the top 15 or top 10.”
Well, Eddie Hearn has now thrown cold water on the idea of a February return; although it won’t be a major delay, with the Matchroom Boss revealing that they’re now targeting a homecoming bonanza in March.
“Australia vs New Zealand, I’m looking forward to a massive fight on the Gold Coast [and] yeah, I mean it’s great timing for us,” Hearn stated on the upcoming Jai Opetaia vs Nyika fight.
“And then recently with our signing of George Kambosos Jr with Lou DiBella, so we’re going to be quite active in Australia [in 2025] … We’re looking to bring Kambosos to a homecoming potentially in Sydney in March.”
Kambosos Jr bounced back from back-to-back losses to Devin Haney with a solid win over Maxi Hughes in his sole 2023 bout, although ‘Ferocious’ did drop his return fight to Ukrainian icon Vasiliy Lomachenko in May.
The good news is that if Kambosos can get back to his winning ways, there’ll be plenty of opportunities for him in a new division, and a new promoter in his corner.
“So, this is a real shot in the arm for us and for our project in Australia because that’s a massive fight… Big PPV in Australia, big PPV in New Zealand; the Australian numbers in general are really, really strong.”
Hearn then cited DAZN’s recent $2.2 Billion purchase of Foxtel as evidence of how boxing will be pushed in the ANZAC region over the coming months, “It’s going to be a really important market for us.”
It all kicks off on January 8.