THE Hearn family have been prevalent in boxing for almost 40 years, overseeing generations of talent not just within the United Kingdom but around the world. However, the end of an era could soon be upon us, with 77-year-old Barry Hearn open to the idea of selling his business amid Saudi interest.
After success in the world of snooker, Barry Hearn made his move into boxing in 1987 and kickstarted his promotional dominance with a heavyweight scrap between Frank Bruno and Joe Bugner at White Hart Lane.
Hearn would then go on to promote British greats such as Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn, Lennox Lewis and Naseem Hamed.
In the early 2010’s, he then handed the boxing reigns over to his son, Eddie, to allow him to better focus on Matchroom’s involvement in snooker, darts and football.
Eddie Hearn has since led Matchroom Boxing to the forefront of the sport and driven the global expansion of the company, notably signing a deal with DAZN in 2018 that supported a venture into the United States.
Yet, the recent rise of Saudi Arabia and Turki Alalshikh has come with financial opportunity, not just for fighters but also for businesses to cash in.
Speaking on the newly released Netflix docuseries based on Matchroom Sports, ‘The Greatest Showmen’, Barry Hearn admitted that he is open to selling his firm, as per The Mirror.
“I’m not going to gamble away my fortune. But if the right deal comes along, selling Matchroom is not out of the question,”
Then, in a later episode, the interest of Saudi powerhouse Turki Alalshikh is confirmed by Eddie Hearn, before his father reaffirms that he is in no rush to sell and would ensure that he only sells to the correct buyer.
EH – “I just spoke to Turki [Alalshikh]. He goes: ‘Just to let you know, please keep it confidential that we are trying to buy Matchroom.'”
BH – “So, what’s Turki Alalshikh saying about he wants to buy Matchroom. Where has that come from? Which is a good thing to say when he hasn’t even had a conversation about it.
“Life’s getting a bit complicated. The idea is to keep things as simple as possible, but inevitably, because of the size of the business, we’re going into a situation or situations that we’d never anticipated before.
“I’m planning my exit, not just from a business, from life itself, and I want to make sure my legacy is protected and anyone who wants to invest in our company – and it is our company – has to follow the rules, no matter who they are.
“If Jesus came down, there’s criteria before I let him on the board. The same applies to Turki. It’s a major, major move and there’s no rush. We’re not getting blown away by anyone. We take it at our own pace.”
Eddie Hearn continues to work with Alalshikh but has previously mentioned that his retirement may be closer than others foresee, and later in the series detailed that it would take ¢1.5bn to purchase the entirety of Matchroom Sport outright.
Whether he would be kept involved within Matchroom in some capacity, if Al-Alshikh were indeed to purchase the promotional outfit, remains to be seen.
