Comments Thread For: Hearn: No One Said Anything About Smith-Groves In Saudi Arabia

[REYESdelBOXEO]

David "Bandera Roja" Benavidez

vs.

Callum "Mundo" Smith

In Saudi Arabia.

Will Callum take on the challenge?
Will Eddie Hearn cut the check & make it happen?

[Oldskoolg]

Yes Eddie it’s you....I’m glad you see that. That might be an indicator that the boxing world might just see you as a problem.....quit injecting yourself into everything and quit trying to feud with boxers you don’t control....no other promoter, manager, trainer, matchmaker or anyone else actively attempts to plex with boxers...fix it

[Chrismart]

I tend to agree with him. In some quarters there is faux outrage about the fight being in SA.
I'm sure there's people out there who are genuinely angered due to SA's terrible human rights record, and that's fine, but there's also obviously boxing fans (network fans) who are just laying it on thick because it's Hearn/Matchroom.

Those guys weren't vocal when Smith/Groves fought. It was obviously a smaller scale fight, with less eyes on it, but SA was still using abhorrent practices then too.

[saintpat]

I tend to agree with him. In some quarters there is faux outrage about the fight being in SA.
I'm sure there's people out there who are genuinely angered due to SA's terrible human rights record, and that's fine, but there's also obviously boxing fans (network fans) who are just laying it on thick because it's Hearn/Matchroom.

Those guys weren't vocal when Smith/Groves fought. It was obviously a smaller scale fight, with less eyes on it, but SA was still using abhorrent practices then too.

A lot more people became aware after they started chopping off the heads of journalists in their own consulate.


And WWE has been under fire for taking events there too. It’s not just an Eddie thing.

[FreezeIzGawd]

Loom the outrage is because you are trying to act like you are a martyr or trend setter when in true Hearn fashion you are just looking out for YOU!!!

You are afraid that AJ will get washed again and if so then you lose BIG!!!

So you take the site with the biggest payday basically covering your BETS!!!

AJ wins you are a Genius who believed in him. AJ gets BEAT THE FLUX UP again and you CASHED OUT....

Either way Hearn is SET!!!

[Chrismart]

A lot more people became aware after they started chopping off the heads of journalists in their own consulate.


And WWE has been under fire for taking events there too. It’s not just an Eddie thing.

I have no doubt more people have been alerted and had their heads turned since the Khashoggi murder, it was big news, but SA has always been a fierce topic over their human right violations. Their treatment of gays, their treatment of women. Slave labour of immigrants. Mass execution. Stoning, amputations, lashings, war crimes.

My own country, to the dismay of many, sells them arms.
None of this is new or hidden information, it's been going on for years. It was going on when Smith faced Groves.

But I definitely feel there is a pocket of boxing fans, the ones who like to bash Hearn, who are crying faux outrage over this fight, that weren't outraged by any other fights/sporting events that have been held in SA.

As I've said I imagine there's some genuine anger for sure, but I agree with Hearn too with some of what he's said.
Some of the boxing fans crying foul, would be praising the same event if a promoter they liked was staging the fight. Just like they weren't fussed with Sauerland staging a fight there.

It's a cash grab and a sensitive subject, morals have gone out of the window. But there's also a lot of fake outrage in some quarters that, after December, will disappear as suddenly as it popped up.

[Boxing_1013]

A lot more people became aware after they started chopping off the heads of journalists in their own consulate.


And WWE has been under fire for taking events there too. It’s not just an Eddie thing.

Yeah a lot of journalists lost their minds when that happened...funny how they viewed that as such a big issue since it happened to someone like them...but when other atrocities happen they are suddenly indifferent, or even outright antagonistic.

Awful things happen every day in every country...why that was spotlighted is because a bunch of journalists kept wailing about it because it hit a little too close to home for them

[YoungManRumble]

Groves vs Callum coulda happened on the sun. Fans are more into HW fights like this one & Joshua is 100x more popular than those two combined & they have actual interest in Joshua fights.

I think this is the obvious truth

[Inspired]

It's not JUST a cash grab. The Saudis could be offering annual $100-200m fights and will develop relationships with top promoters. To refuse them today would mean they're less likely to deal with you later.
From Eddie's perspective, had he turned the Saudis down and then they offered Al haymon $100m to host a pbc superfight and he took it, it harms Matchroom in a big way.
That's also completely tax free money.
It also helps grow the sport in the region.

I used to watch floyd Mayweather and Manny pacquaio fights on free to air Al Jazeera sports on Astra 26/Badr for a number of years. Then al jazeera rebranded to Beinsports and went to a new satellite, one i don't get access to. Al Jazeera/beinsports is owned by the Qataris. The Saudis are entering boxing and other sports entirely because they want to own the Qataris. So what will the saudis do? they'll take their networks and expand them for free to other arab and asian countries. That in turn will help grow the sport in all those places.

Also, i'm hoping this isn't the case for the majority of people, but Arabs have a big future in boxing. There aren't many arab boxers but the few there have been, look at how far they've done.
Naseem Hamed, Kid Galahad, Kal Yafai, all on world level or close.
Eg the ones who do enter boxing, succeed (even though they're british arabs, i still mean in terms of their ethnic background they've proven arabs can fight).
MMA is growing in the middle east too. Check out the atmosphere here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4yHijavpOs
different type of set up to a boxing fight though and these are arab fighters so naturally that translates to the audience.

[texasboi15]

Maybe the Saudi Prince has Whyte’s b sample

Stay on his ass VT