While the boxing world remained focused on the happenings in Miami, where Jake Paul takes on former champion Anthony Joshua, far east in the little-known town of Lubbock, Texas, things were shaping up in an intriguing manner. The city, home to the famed Texas Tech University, hosted the 2025 USA Boxing National Championships at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. The tournament churned out its share of winners, setbacks, and upsets. What went largely unnoticed, however, was the presence of two visitors.

Closely observing the boxers competing in the junior, youth, and elite divisions were Dana White and Nick Khan. Now heading Zuffa Boxing, the UFC CEO appears to be headhunting talent for the new boxing promotion that came to life a few months ago. The promotion kicks off its first event on January 23, the night before UFC 324. So speculation has been rife about the participants on the card. Coupled with the Ali Revival Act proposal, which earmarks a special place for UBOs like Zuffa, the development has already alarmed legacy promoters and sanctioning bodies. As more details emerge, some, like Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, continue to raise doubts, especially over contentious issues like fighter pay.

Eddie Hearn skeptical of Dana White’s boxing pay structure

Speaking with a sunny Miami seaside behind him, the English promoter, whose star fighter, Anthony Joshua, is expected to clinch a walkover tonight, said he was taken aback by reports of the payouts fighters at Zuffa could be receiving.

“January 23rd is their first show. I was with a manager the other day who told me about an offer that they’ve made to one of their fighters,” said Hearn when asked during the interview if he had heard anything about Zuffa’s inaugural event.

What startled Hearn was the reported pay scale of TKO’s boxing promotion. “I couldn’t believe how bad the money was,” stated Eddie Hearn. There is some speculation that the proposed Revival Act could affect provisions of the Ali Act, particularly those related to fighters’ rights. In light of these contentious issues, the payouts appear to have left the legacy promoter, and many like him, bemused.

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Zuffa is the latest boxing promotion from TKO, which also owns the UFC and WWE. Dana White and Nick Khan are responsible for its day-to-day operations.

Zuffa boxing’s payout puzzle

Speaking about their upcoming plans, TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro said during a conference, “Our plan is to build a promotion where we have a stable of 200 or so fighters that we are hard at work signing up…. Fans see the fights they want to see, which means the best fight the best. You move up in the rankings, and you fight someone else that has moved up in the rankings. That’s really what we’re building here with Zuffa Boxing.”

Previously, several reports surfaced with a tentative list of proposed fighter payouts for Zuffa Boxing.

Unranked fighters are reportedly set to earn $10,000 per ten-round fight. The amount will scale up to $50,000 per bout for fighters ranked between fifth and tenth. Fighters ranked third and fourth could reportedly earn around $125,000 per fight.

Title challengers are said to be in line for approximately $375,000, while the figure reportedly caps at $750,000 for champions defending their titles.

With just over a month to go, fans may have to wait and see whether Eddie Hearn’s words come true. Or if there is more than meets the eye.

What do you make of Eddie Hearn’s views? Do you think Zuffa will struggle to match the fighter payouts offered by legacy promoters?