Eddie Hearn has responded after Johnny Fisher revealed he has been offered a significant bump in pay to jump ship to Dana White's Zuffa Boxing.
Fisher is currently testing the market as a free agent for the first time in his career after his deal with Matchroom Boxing came to an end.
The heavyweight prospect is in a strong position after getting back to winning ways in his last outing, with the upstart Zuffa Boxing promotion looking to expand into the UK following their broadcast deal with Sky Sports.
While it remains to be seen how high The Romford Bull will be able to climb up the heavyweight ranks, he has proven to be a strong ticket seller with a devoted following since turning professional in 2021.
Fisher revealed earlier this week that he had received a bumper offer to become the latest high-profile talent in British boxing to sign an exclusive deal with Zuffa, following the likes of Conor Benn and Chris Billam-Smith.
The 27-year-old added that Dana White's outfit had offered him terms "six or seven" times higher than what Hearn had outlined for him.
Responding to the claims the Matchroom Boxing chief revealed that he advised Fisher to take the money, and insisted that there is no ill feelings between the pair.
"He's right it is over six times more than I would pay for him to fight that opponent," Hearn told iFL TV.
"If Zuffa offered half the money we wouldn't have matched it. So good luck to you mate, go and sign it.
"I'm actually pleased for Johnny. Don't get me wrong I love him and I don't know where his career will go and if he could have finished his career with us and tried to go on and fight for a British title I think it would've been a great achievement.
"We've had some great nights and he's got to do what is best for him."
Hearn added that he had offered Fisher even more money for a potential showdown with former world title challenger Dillian Whyte that ultimately didn't materialise, but insisted that he could not match Zuffa's offer for him to take a tune-up fight.
He continued: "When you see Johnny's fight announced, if I put on that fight as main event or anything you would abuse the **** out of me."
"It's just bad business."
"As much as I want to help Johnny, he's got his help now. My response is: swim, walk, crawl, sign that [Zuffa] contract ASAP."
Fisher suffered the first defeat of his career in his rematch against Dave Allen in May of last year after earning a contentious decision in his first meeting with the White Rhino.
In what looks set to be his final fight with Matchroom Boxing, Fisher returned to the ring in December, surviving an early scare against the unheralded Ivan Balaz before battling back to win by fourth-round TKO.
