Eddie Hearn: ‘To want to be in the boxing business at this level is a borderline illness’

Eddie Hearn

PROMOTER Eddie Hearn rarely has a quiet day. But the last few weeks have been as tumultuous as they come. He took over from his father Barry as chairman of the Matchroom Sport group, came close to making the Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury megafight, only to see that fall apart. He did stage Canelo Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders in Texas, during a pandemic, with a US boxing attendance record. He agreed a landmark deal with DAZN in the UK, a major break for Matchroom as they leave long time broadcast partner Sky and he has just announced a new deal in partnership with Canelo and DAZN for a series of shows in Mexico.

โ€œItโ€™s been a great month but people always want blood,โ€ he tells Boxing News. โ€œIโ€™m talking about fans, Iโ€™m talking about broadcasters, Iโ€™m talking about sponsors.

โ€œItโ€™s part and parcel but you never really get the time to reflect โ€ฆ because itโ€™s on to the next one.โ€

โ€œMy biggest weakness is never really living in the moment or accepting achievement. I play a trick on myself a little bit. I donโ€™t want to big myself up, selfishly because it will make me complacent. So I kind of undersell myself to myself, this is quite deep and weird but this what I do,โ€ Hearn continued. โ€œPeople wrote us off in America. No one let us in. Then we signed Canelo. We done that, Iโ€™m still like; now weโ€™ve got to do the undisputed [fight], now weโ€™ve got to move to another market, now weโ€™ve got to do this.

โ€œThatโ€™s just the drive of saying yes youโ€™re never happy but you also want more. Want more. Itโ€™s not even financial. Itโ€™s just you want to break more boundaries. You want more success. You want to do better.โ€

The move into Mexico is part of Matchroomโ€™s plan for global expansion. โ€œNo oneโ€™s promoting globally. Weโ€™re the only promotional company that are promoting events globally in different markets,โ€ Hearn said. โ€œDAZN are looking to break into the Mexican market but also the content there will be of huge interest our American subscribers as well and itโ€™s additional shows for our UK subscribers. They get that content as well. DAZN UK customers are going to get 16 UK shows, probably 10 US shows, four Italian, four Spanish, six Mexican a year. Then thereโ€™ll be Australia, then thereโ€™ll be Canada. Youโ€™ll build a global schedule where there will be a show every week from a different major city around the world. Thatโ€™s the thing weโ€™ve always dreamed, having that almost internal circuit like the UFC. Thatโ€™s how thatโ€™s going to be built.โ€

eddie hearn
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

Canelo himself is key to that growth. โ€œThat partnership has really helped Matchroom grow because heโ€™s the biggest star by a mile in America. Heโ€™s got such a huge fan base. Itโ€™s funny when people say whoโ€™s the easiest fighter you deal with in boxing, number one is Anthony Joshua and joint number one Canelo Alvarez, unbelievable,โ€ the promoter said. โ€œMe, Canelo and Eddy Reynoso, taking big time boxing back to Mexico with DAZN. Itโ€™s a multi-year deal, four fights in the next six months, non-stop fights and action and thatโ€™s coming after the UK announcement.

โ€œOur first show will be at the end of June in Guadalajara and itโ€™s like the whole thing is built off the search for the new Canelo. But the talent is there.โ€

For Canelo himself the target is a bout with Caleb Plant for the undisputed super-middleweight crown in September. Given Alvarezโ€™s importance to DAZN and now to Matchroom it would be understandable if they were desperate to secure that fight for their platform. But Hearn insists any promotional allegiance wonโ€™t be a problem when it comes to securing a deal with Plant.

โ€œWeโ€™ll do everything we can to get it on DAZN but it doesnโ€™t have to be on DAZN. Thatโ€™s the beauty of being a free agent,โ€ the promoter said. โ€œWhen youโ€™re that size [like Canelo] you donโ€™t necessarily have to sign a long term broadcast deal because things change.

โ€œAll Canelo wants to do is fight Caleb Plant. Now if that fight canโ€™t happen on DAZN, he can do it on Fox, he can do it on ESPN. If he wanted to fight [Edgar] Berlanga he could do it with Top Rank. His last three fights have been on DAZN because theyโ€™ve been two DAZN fighters in Billy Joe Saunders and Callum Smith and [Avni] Yildirim, who was just a mandatory.

โ€œHeโ€™s asked me to promote his next fight, secure the deal, we have no problem with [going elsewhere]. It doesnโ€™t even have to be a Matchroom show. Our job is to promote Canelo Alvarez and look after his best interests. Of course weโ€™d love to be the host promoter but whatever it takes to deliver him this opportunity.โ€

Now Hearn is chair of Matchroom, he has their other sports under his remit. โ€œI canโ€™t remember the last time I woke up in the morning and didnโ€™t have bad news on my phone. โ€˜Heโ€™s out.โ€™ โ€˜Heโ€™s failed a Covid test.โ€™ โ€˜Heโ€™s reneged on a deal. โ€˜Heโ€™s injured.โ€™ โ€˜Heโ€™s failed a drug test.โ€™ โ€˜The venueโ€™s shut down.โ€™ Every single day. After a while you say to yourself how long do I want to do it for?โ€ Eddie explained. โ€œTo want to be in the business at that level is a borderline illness… Theyโ€™re addicted to boxing, to the business, to trying to win. Theyโ€™re competitorsโ€

But boxing is hard to leave behind. โ€œFrank [Smith] now is taking more responsibility within the boxing business because Iโ€™m now chairman of the group,โ€ the promoter continued. โ€œFrankโ€™s an amazing operator. Levels above me, in terms of operating. He canโ€™t sell like me. But heโ€™s been doing this since he was 15 and heโ€™s done everything, from health and safety to international TV contracts, fighter contracts, to governing bodies. Everything.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s quite funny seeing him have to deal with trainers, managers. And Iโ€™m laughing at him because he looks like heโ€™s aged five years in the last month. But he has to start taking it on. Because I canโ€™t do it forever and I will be moving and migrating more into other sports. But the reality is I love boxing,โ€ he adds. โ€œWeโ€™re all addicted.

โ€œTo boxing, we love it.โ€

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