MATCHROOM have big plans for the upcoming year. โWeโre nowhere near where we want to be. Weโre only just really getting started,โ promoter Eddie Hearn promised. โ[Boxing] was absolutely crucified for years and years and years and itโs taken time to reinvent. But we are reinventing it, weโre filling stadiums. This O2 show [on January 31] is a great example. I couldnโt believe it went on sale and did 3,000 tickets in the first dayโฆ [Anthony] Joshuaโs a massive part of that because now people are getting on the bandwagon. People are wanting to come to live events again, people are enjoying the experience. Itโs so important for a punter to go to a show and actually enjoy a night out. I canโt stress that enough. Not just the fight. The music, the people, the seats, the arenas, everything combined.
“Weโre not just looking at putting bums on seats for that event, weโre looking at growing the sport so in three, five years time, young kids are coming through, the talentโs coming through, boxing gyms are packed, kids are going to the sport. Boxingโs cool again because thatโs what boxingโs become over the last 18 months. Boxingโs become cool again to go to as an event and I think thatโs down to us, to be quite honest. Weโre the reason that boxing has become cool again. Weโre making big fights, weโre pushing the boundaries, the promotions are different. Honest opinion, I think that is whatโs happened. Go to our shows, you look at our crowds, people are younger, people are dressing up, thereโs more women. We did it with darts and weโre doing it with boxing and the numbers are translatingโฆ Itโs January, itโs a bad time to sell. Weโll have 10,000 there [at the O2], thatโs a big success.
โWeโre doing so much in terms of the simple stuff, that anyone can do, the music, getting people in the ring, the MC. Then thereโs the other stuff, the social media side, Instagram, competitions, Twitter competitions, weโre going to get more involved in and bring that live feel. We did it at Froch-Groves [at Wembley], thereโs was an Instagram thing on the big screens. Things like that, weโve just got to think outside the box a little bit. The problem is thereโs so much to do.โ
Filling Wembley Stadium with 80,000 fans for the rematch between Carl Froch and George Groves was one of Hearnโs highlights of 2014. โWembley was amazing and actually when I look back I still canโt believe that happened. I donโt actually remember a lot about it. Itโs weird. In boxing things are changing so quickly, itโs non-stop. Youโre on one project one day and the next day, youโre on another project, so you donโt really get a chance to sit back and say that was wonderful. I think we should because Wembley was something very, very special. Kell Brook winning the world title in California was brilliant. Anthony Joshua has had a great year, even Callum Smith as well. Someone like Callum, probably many didnโt expect to come out and do what heโs done but I think the key for us had been the success of taking shows to new towns, new cities, filling arenas and growing stars. Josh Warrington has been a real success story. So many. I think that when you look going into next year, itโs non-stop. Not just from us. I donโt think many would deny, not wanting to sound big-headed, that weโre number one at the moment but that can change, if you get complacent. But itโs not just us doing good things. Frank Warren is giving it a go. Mick Hennessyโs giving it a go, heโs got some terrestrial tv coverage, even Dennis Hobson trying to do a few bits and pieces. Itโs a great time for British boxing.
โI think a lot of our success has been based around Leeds with Josh Warrington, Hull with Luke Campbell, even Scotland was a big success for us with Burns for a while. London now is reemerging. Liverpool will always been Liverpool, Manchesterโs tough but itโs always there. Itโs tough because the big cities, Londonโs the same, they want big fights because thereโs so much going on.
โEvery marketโs different. The plan for 2015 is to move not just to cities in the UK but also to countries, we want to do more stuff in America, Germany with the Sauerland brothers, working very closely with them. We want to expand. We wonโt take our eye off the ball in the UK but weโre nowhere near as big as I want us to be yet and that expansion really involves moving and looking at other territories as well.
โWeโve got a great stable now. Imagine in two or three years, when the likes of Joshua, Campbell, Callum Smith, Martin Ward, Charlie Edwards, Kal Yafai are all in their prime, weโll have a great stable.โ
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