Eddie Hearn thinks it reflects poorly on ESPN, the self-styled Worldwide Leader in Sports, to program a boxing card on the same night as the presumed greatest women’s title bout in history.
Hearn is promoting the April 30 women’s lightweight unification bout between Hearn’s charge, champion Katie Taylor, and seven-division world champion Amanda Serrano, the challenger. The bout, which will stream on DAZN, is being publicized as the most consequential women’s title bout ever. Indeed, it will be the first female bout to ever headline the famed Madison Square Garden venue in New York City.
On the same night, ESPN will be showcasing its own title bout, a-yet-to-be-announced junior lightweight unification bout between titlists Shakur Stevenson (WBO) and Oscar Valdez (WBC) in Las Vegas.
Given the historical gravitas associated with Taylor-Serrano, Hearn said he was dismayed by ESPN’s decision to schedule potentially conflicting programming on the same night. Still, Hearn is confident that his show will do just fine despite the potential siphoning off of viewership.
“Sometimes in boxing, we’re so intrinsic we don’t see the bigger picture,” Hearn told a group of reporters at a press conference for Taylor-Serrano in New York City. “We look at Stevenson-Valdez and go, ‘Wow, that’s a big fight.’ And it’s a brilliant fight, a brilliant fight – but in boxing. That’s not going to reach out to the major new outlets. We’re talking the first [time], in 140 years, two women will headline at Madison Square Garden.
“The world will stop to watch this fight (Taylor-Serrano), and the world won’t stop to watch Valdez-Stevenson. [The] boxing [world] will stop. It doesn’t really make sense to conflict. But I’m all in.
“I also think it looks bad on ESPN. ESPN wants to counter program it, effectively, whether it’s their intention or not, a historic moment for women’s sport.”
There may be one consolation for Hearn. As reported by BoxingScene.com’s Keith Idec, DAZN executive Joe Markowski says he has every intention to make sure that the start times for the main events of the competing cards do not conflict.
Hearn says there was never a question in his mind about moving off the April 30 date. With the media presence offered by co-promoter Jake Paul, who is also Serrano’s business manager, Hearn believes Taylor-Serrano has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cut into the mainstream and elevate the profile of women's boxing.
“When you contract a fight, when you plan a fight, when you’ve secured it with a venue, when you’ve been working a month on this date, and get a deal done, and then you hear about [a potential scheduling conflict], I don’t move,” Hearn said. “If there’s another show on a weekend, and I have a chance to move, I’ll move, but on this occasion, I’m telling you again, you see the [media] turnout here today, the attention that Jake will bring, this is a much bigger fight than Stevenson against Valdez.”
