By Radio Rahim
Eddie Hearn, promoter for IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs), revealed one of his issues in finalizing a fight with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs).
Hearn has been trading words, for several weeks, with Shelly Finkel - who is the co-manager of Wilder.
The two sides are now going back and forth on a guarantee of $50 million that Team Wilder presented to Joshua.
A few weeks back, Hearn jokingly renamed Shelly Finkel - and began using the moniker of 'Shirley Wenkel' when referring to the industry veteran.
And now, Hearn finds it's quite difficult to refer to Finkel by his real name.
He fears, that during his negotiations with Finkel - he will inadvertently start calling him 'Shirley Wenkel.'
"With regards to Shirley Wenkel. This guy came out here, in this very room [at Barclays], and pulled out an email. And then I said in one interview - Shirley Wenkel. It just came out of my mouth. And ever since then, everybody in boxing... I'm not very popular - but this guy is massively unpopular. Even members of Deontay Wilder's team can't stand this guy and they phoned me to tell me this," Hearn said.
"So I just said Shirley Wenkel once. But I've got so many phone calls from people laughing about it - it's stuck in my head. A lot of the times I'm trying to drop it in, but other times I'm saying it sub-consciously.
"In fact, if I spoke to him on the phone I would probably call him Shirley. In fact, I've convinced myself that his name is no longer Shelly Finkel - it is Shirley Wenkel. And that's genuine. That's not trying to be clever or name calling. It's stuck so far in my head that I actually went to respond to an email today and I put 'Dear Shirley.'
"I sent my dad to see him once, because you have to understand that we're from two different schools. You have to have respect for a person who has been in boxing for so long. He's been involved in so many fights, like Tyson-Lewis. But there comes a time where you just don't have it. It's time for the younger generation."
