“I think we might fight him next, Brandon Moore,” Hearn said after the fight. “We have really got to find someone. It’s so frustrating in Australia because no one wants to fight him.”
A fight with Moore (19-1, 10 KOs) would provide an obvious measuring stick. He defeated Savage by a 10-round unanimous decision last September, dropping him in the seventh. His lone defeat came against Richard Torrez Jr., who knocked him out in five rounds in 2024.
Hearn felt Savage became frightened once he experienced Teremoana’s power.
“I was disappointed Savage didn’t get [further]. I don’t blame him, but it was just the fear. His eyes were popping out of his head as soon as he felt the power.”
Teremoana hardly pressed the accelerator in the opening round, throwing only a handful of punches before hurting Savage with a right hand late. Hearn liked the patience he showed rather than immediately going for the finish.
“I saw a guy that was a little bit more experienced tonight. Sort of took his time. I mean, he could have really done it in 30 seconds.”
Getting meaningful rounds has become increasingly difficult. Hearn conceded that fans will question the quality of Teremoana’s opposition and said Matchroom has reached the point where the competition must increase.
“There’ll be a lot of the public that will say, ‘Well, who’s he fighting?’ And I get that as well. We’ve got to step up,” Hearn said. “We do really, really need rounds.”
Hearn wants Teremoana to fight twice more this year and believes another four or five bouts are needed before he challenges for a world heavyweight title. His target is the back end of 2027, when Teremoana will be 29.
“He needs someone that can take him five or six rounds,” Hearn said. “Sooner or later there’s going to be a 10-round, 12-round war in there, and he’ll be ready.”
Anthony Joshua has also taken notice of Teremoana.
“AJ said to me a few times, ‘What’s this Teremoana?’ I’m like, ‘He’s a fucking monster.’”
Hearn expects a different type of fight once Teremoana encounters heavyweights willing and capable of attacking him rather than simply trying to survive.
“Sooner or later someone’s going to really come to win, and when they do they are going to get iced so badly by his power and his accuracy. At the moment he’s chasing the stoppage. Soon, when people are coming to win, it’s going to be brutal to watch.”
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