Eddie Hearn responds to Frank Warren’s statement on Terry Flanagan vs Anthony Crolla

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EDDIE HEARN has responded to the statement rival promoter Frank Warren released last week with regards to a potential fight between lightweight world champions Terry Flanagan and Anthony Crolla.

Warren, who promotes WBO boss Flanagan, claimed a meeting between the two Mancunians could be aired on Sky Sports Box Office, as long as it was made on a 50:50 basis.

Hearn, who handles WBA titlist Crolla, does not feel the fight warrants such a split, and also revealed there are no available pay-per-view dates this year.

“It was quite clever. The first thing he said is heโ€™s willing for it to be on Sky pay-per-view, so firstly, I thank him for the offer of letting me make one of his fighters a lot of money,” he told Boxing News.

“Itโ€™s not a pay-per-view fight yet, because of the schedule weโ€™ve got โ€“ [Kell] Brook [on August 27] and [Anthony] Joshua again, which Frank knows.

I donโ€™t believe itโ€™s a 50:50 fight in terms of who brings what to the table, but thatโ€™s kind of irrelevant, weโ€™re not even at that stage.”

Warren had previously made Crolla an offer of ยฃ500,000 to fight Flanagan, though Anthony elected to fulfil his mandatory obligation against Ismael Barroso on May 7 instead, for which he was still handsomely rewarded.

Flanagan, who regularly appears on Warren’s channel BoxNation, last defended his title against Derry Mathews in March. Hearn feels Terry, who – alongside Crolla – is one of the world’s best at 135lbs, is eager for higher purses, given his standing in the division.

“Frankโ€™s in a really difficult position with Flanagan because Crollaโ€™s earning three or four times as much money as him now and Flanagan knows that and Flanagan wants the big fights for big money, and Frankโ€™s really under pressure,” he continued.

“As I said to Steve Wood [Flanaganโ€™s manager] who Iโ€™ve been negotiating with, โ€˜make us your biggest offer, weโ€™ll do the same, and weโ€™ll see what makes sense.โ€™

“If you look at what the champions are earning, Flanaganโ€™s on a quarter of that โ€“ and they know that. But itโ€™s difficult because Flanaganโ€™s not creating the revenue.”

Warren’s side would likely dispute that, though it seems clear Crolla’s profile is higher than Flanagan’s at this stage, partly due to the career-threatening injuries he suffered in 2014 while trying to stop a burglary.

Crolla – who himself has stated he would fight anyone, including Flanagan – is particularly keen on fighting division leader Jorge Linares. If negotiations for a fight with Terry drag on, Hearn says he will pursue other options.

He said: “Linares is definitely an option. We like the Flanagan fight, but if weโ€™re going to be held up and itโ€™s going to be messy, weโ€™ll look to the Linares fight.”

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