Paulie Malignaggi believes Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren helped create their own competition by embracing Saudi investment in boxing.
He argues that Hearn and Warren understood the risk but accepted the money anyway. Zuffa Boxing has since become another major player with substantial financial backing.
“I think that the entrance of Turki Alalshikh and the promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren that worked with them and then got kicked in their ass afterwards, I think it shows you that there’s a Trojan horse element to that other side trying to walk in,” Malignaggi told Andrew McCart at iFL TV.
“I think everybody in the business knew, and I think deep down Eddie and Frank were also, they’re not dumb people. They’re intelligent guys. So, I think they also knew, but they liked the money too much.”
Malignaggi sees Zuffa’s position today as a consequence of decisions existing promoters made when Saudi investment began pouring into major fights, letting outside capital gain influence before expanding into direct competition.
“They allowed this foreign entity, as far as outside the business, to enter the fray and then become their competition in a way,” Malignaggi said.
His criticism extends beyond the promoters. Malignaggi believes sanctioning bodies risk a similar fate by cooperating with Zuffa despite its earlier opposition to boxing’s traditional governing structure.
“They first announced that they were against the governing bodies, then they sort of started working with the governing bodies,” Malignaggi said. “If I have the power to eliminate you, I’m going to eliminate you. But if I don’t right now, I’ll play nice.”
Malignaggi summed up his position by arguing that immediate financial rewards may come with consequences for established players in the sport.
“Short-term greed can lead to long-term loss.”
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Last Updated on 2026/08/07 at 4:32 PM
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