By Terence Dooley
“Well, I went to school, did my GCSEs and A-Levels and went to work for a sponsorship and sport's marketing agency in the city. I worked there for my trainee years and then went to work for an athlete representation company, looking after footballers, golfers and other athletes. I did five years in the marketplace and came to Matchroom in 2000 to set up the Matchroom Golf management section,” recalled Matchroom's Group Managing Director Eddie Hearn during our recent conversation.
“I am a director of the Professional Darts Corporation, a director of the World Snooker Organisation and also Leyton Orient FC, run our online poker and gaming division and now obviously our boxing as well. I always knew I'd work for Matchroom but just didn't want to walk out of college and into a job with my dad (Barry Hearn) – neither of us would have wanted that.”
The Hearns are now standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a bid to bring boxing back to the front and back pages. Both father and son showed their passion for the game in the aftermath of Amir Khan's April 16th TD win over Ireland's Paul McCloskey. Upon seeing that the contest was being waved off due to a cut on the Derryman's brow, Barry marched into the ring, waving and gesticulating like a frenzied Irish poet.
Eddie made his feelings clear during a tempestuous post-fight presser from which neither side emerged with a huge amount of credit. Hearn, however, defended their stance, telling me that the shambolic events surrounding the show, which was bumped from Sky PPV to Sky Sports 3 and then onto Primetime in the space of a week, needed to be addressed.
“That just really reinforced my philosophy that quality fighters need a quality promoter. If you haven't got a quality promoter you won't give yourself the opportunity to maximise you earnings as mistakes will be made that will threaten your earnings and career,” said Eddie.
“This isn't a game or a bit of fun, it is people's livelihoods we're talking about. You only get one chance and you've got to do it right. I think we all saw that they (Team Khan) didn't. I was more gutted for Amir over the TV thing. Obviously that is down to them, it is none of my business, but fighting is a tough game and fighters deserve honesty, integrity and a quality promoter making the right decisions for them whilst they are in the ring having a tough time. The least we can do is deliver for them outside the ring.”
Khan's move to Primetime reaped decent viewing figures and recouped a lot of money for Team Khan yet it also tainted their previously solid relationship with Sky TV. Hearn believes the greatest damage was done on the night due to an ending that failed to satisfy viewers, the crowd or the fighters and which prompted the Hearns to step into the breach.
“That wasn't our plan, it was more down to our passion for the fighter,” says Hearn to the question of whether they had purposefully tried to stoke the flames for a return match. “I was calmer than the old man, he went right in there and did his nut but that's only because he wants the best for our fighters. My dad will stand up and fight for them. He believed that the stoppage was quite ridiculous. Everyone who saw the cut believed the fight shouldn't have been stopped.”
Paul was six rounds down, cut and had looked out of his depth against an out of sorts Khan. Hearn, though, refutes claims that the point's deficit and one-sided nature of the action should be taken into account when looking at the ending.
Saying, “McCloskey being behind on point's is irrelevant. Give the corner a chance to work on the cut. This is a world title shot. People talked about is a chance in a lifetime shot – although we don't believe it will be – so he should have been given the opportunity to fight. It wasn't right over the eye, it wasn't particularly deep so allow the corner a chance to work on it. They definitely would have stopped the bleeding. It was all a bit strange, so you have to stand up for your fighter and not just take it – you have to do your job properly.”
Whatever your perspective of the stoppage, fight and event, McCloskey walked out of the MEN Arena with far more options than he had going into the showdown. There was no chance of the BBBoC intervening and forcing a rematch of a voluntary WBA defence. However, the sense of injustice and goodwill towards the likeable Irishman means that 'Dudey' can now look at international opponents. With Hearn earning his spurs by talking to a few big names as they look to firm up a home soil fight for the former EBU title holder.
“We're battling for Paul every step of the way and will get him what he deserves. His next fight will either be for a world title or an eliminator [Writer's note: Paul is currently ranked #4 by the WBA]. He has shown deserves it. The response we've all had, and me personally, from his fans and his people makes me want to fight even harder for him. They're great people,” he marvelled.
“How many fighters do you know can bring 3-4000 fans over for a fight overseas. It is unprecedented and almost like the support of some Premiership football clubs. When you have fans making an effort like that you have to appreciate it and give something back. We want to make sure that he has a big fight in Ireland.”
Breidis Prescott would be an ideal opponent. He has defeated Khan, boxed twice here in the UK and has a very readable style. Powerful, sure, but with a tendency to lose steam as the rounds tick by. “Prescott would be a great fight,” concurred Hearn.
“Amir said, 'If you go out and beat the people I've beat then you can have a rematch', so what if we went out and beat the man who beat him? That would be a great story. If we work hard with the WBA, and they want to give Paul some justice, then they could elevate Khan to 'super' champion if he fights [Tim] Bradley and let Paul fight for the vacant belt [Writer's note: Khan-Bradley is still up in the air. The WBA 'super' belt will indeed be on the line should they meet in a unification].
“Or Amir could do the honourable thing now his fight with Bradley looks like it isn't happening by giving Paul a rematch in Belfast. They'll make a shed load of money. But I think the Khans were very frustrated by the McCloskey fight. I think he had trouble with the style and with hitting Paul. It was a bit of a messy fight so it is one they won't particularly want again.”
Amir, though, looks likely to face Zab Judah for the IBF 140lb belt should a Bradley meeting fall by the wayside. Ironically, Hearn has been in contact with Kathy Duva, who represents Judah, to inquire about a defence against McCloskey.
“If you look at the bigger picture then Amir will probably end up fighting Zab Judah if I'm honest with you,” admitted Hearn. “But we spoke to Kathy Duva also about a shot for Paul so that is in the melting pot as well. Something should emerge over the next few weeks. It is going to be exciting news and it will either be a world title shot or an eliminator. Either way, he gets the chance to fight for a world title again.”
Matchroom's Prizefighter series continues to underpin their solid relationship with Sky. The tournament has moved to 18-0 since its 2008 inception. Last month's Liverpool Olympia super-middleweight show netted Sky's highest boxing viewing figures for the year thus far. This benchmark was broken last week when Prizefighter: The International Heavyweights hit London's Olympia venue.
“I'm delighted to tell you that anyone who says Prizefighter is losing steam will be pleased to know that the viewing figures for Saturday's International Heavyweights event were the biggest for 2011 across any boxing,” confirmed Eddie when asked if the format is jaded.
“The figures are even bigger than the Liverpool event. That goes to show that Prizefighter is still delivering twice the ratings for a Saturday fight night. Ratings tell you everything you need to know and Sky have just delivered a new two year contract to us so Prizefighter is going from strength-to-strength.”
The promoter believes that Sky's delight with the crowd pleasing format is good news for every firm in the UK as it shows that the sport can crossover. “It is all about ratings. Some of the boxing shows put on recently by Sky haven't rated well and that is not good enough in my opinion,” he blasted.
“We've got to make sure that fights and fighters that the viewing public wants to see are showcased. Then we can go to Sky and tell them that the people want to see the top fights so if they give us more money or longer deals they can have these fights. But the only way we'll get that is if we give Sky quality nights and viewing figures to match.”
Signing Darren Barker, Kell Brook and Carl Froch has piqued the interest of fans, followers and fighters. Matchroom are still in the marker for signatures but insist that they will make sure that they have a manageable, happy stable of talent. Still, Hearn told me that there are one or two other names in the mix.
“We've got half a dozen big names who want to join us at the moment but I don't not want to be able to deliver what I promise. What I promise, I deliver. If I can't do that or signing someone hampers another fighter we've signed then I won't sign them. If someone special comes along then I will talk to that fighter. We're talking to a few at the moment. We're not looking for a huge stable – we want a nice number.”
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