Josh Kelly suspects promoter Eddie Hearn would rather see Jaron “Boots” Ennis win their February 27 unification fight in Atlanta. Kelly’s response to that reality is simple: he plans to be “bad for business that night.”

The subject came up during a joint appearance on Inside the Ring, where Devin Haney pressed Kelly on the politics of the matchup while Hearn sat right beside them. Thinking back to when Matchroom promoted both him and Regis Prograis, Haney recalled feeling that Hearn genuinely had his best interests at heart. He wanted to know if Kelly felt that same backing with Matchroom representing both corners.

“I know Eddie’s favorite probably Boots. He’s good for business in the U.S.,” Kelly said to Ring Magazine. “I’m going to be bad for business that night for the U.S.”

Hearn pointed to his long history with Kelly and claimed he hates matching two of his own fighters together because he can’t cheer for either side. He also insisted that Ennis and his father and trainer, Bozy, know how good Kelly is, even as talk about Boots becoming the pound-for-pound king has fans treating this like a showcase.

If Hearn does favor Ennis, it makes total sense. Ennis is a major, fan-friendly talent who closes the show, whereas Kelly’s recent run has been built on survival and generous scorecards. Kelly looked poor in his outing against Caoimhin Agyarko. Before that, he walked away with a questionable decision over IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev in a fight where he spent practically the entire night on his back foot.

Their shared history against David Avanesyan tells the whole story. Avanesyan stopped Kelly in six rounds; Ennis blew Avanesyan away in five.

Haney suggested on the show that a fighter who can change range, turn Ennis, and tie him up can force Boots to take his time and think his way into the fight. The problem is that Kelly’s game doesn’t center on breaking opponents down with smart boxing.

Lately, it has revolved around running around the ring and trying to steal rounds in the final ten seconds. Hearn can still steer the winner into a potential undisputed clash with Sebastian Fundora, and unless Kelly brings a completely different style to Atlanta, Matchroom’s U.S. business plans aren’t in much danger.