“No. Ridiculous. Desperate and, you know, at the end of the day, there’s no conspiracy for me to get Jai Opetaia stripped. I couldn’t give a monkey’s, to be honest with you. Jai Opetaia made the decision to join Zuffa, who publicly stated they will not be working with governing bodies,” said Hearn to Ring Magazine. “As such, they didn’t follow the criteria given by the sanctioning body, and therefore the event wasn’t sanctioned. Nothing to do with me. Unfortunately, I know everyone’s really upset, and he was lied to, but that’s the reality of the situation. Speak to the IBF. Like I said, no case against us. Nothing’s been ordered against us. We’ll have that complaint dealt with as well. Unfortunately for them, no involvement from us and no interest.”

Hearn insisted the IBF made its own decision regarding Opetaia’s title. He said questions about the sanctioning body’s actions should be directed to the organization itself. Hearn also dismissed claims that Matchroom participated in any conspiracy, maintaining that the company has no legal exposure beyond being identified in the complaint.