“The Day of Reckoning” show in Saudi Arabia on Saturday has united an unprecedented pack of promoters.

Of the dozen that have contributed to the star-studded dance, the unlikeliest pairing of all has been the unification between lead promoter Frank Warren of Queensberry Boxing and Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn. 

Although the companies have done business together throughout the years, Warren and Hearn had been kept away from each other, and the Brits have instead bashed each other through the press. 

They’d never even met each other until a kickoff press event last month to begin amplifying the event. 

Their yearslong rivalry and feud officially came to an end once the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia financed the card, which is headlined by Anthony Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) taking on Otto Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs, 1 NC) in the main event and Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) taking on Joseph Parker (33-3, 23 KOs) in the co-main event. 

And now, they’re rubbing shoulders and promoting the DAZN pay-per-view card, and the sight has been surreal to witness for British boxing fans. 

“There’s always rivalry, and I’m sure there will be rivalry next week, but we’re not idiots," Hearn said during the weigh-in show on Friday.

“We love the sport, and when there are massive opportunities for our fighters and our business and the sport of boxing, we’d be plonkers if we didn’t try and make this work. We had a nice evening last night. Maybe he’s not too bad after all, maybe. It’s exciting. I’ve never been involved with anything like this before. Like I said, regardless of the rivalry, we love this sport, and this is a massive opportunity for boxing.”

Warren also understands that beef cannot get in the way of business. 

“As Eddie said, we cannot afford to let this get ruined, and it won’t because everybody is like-minded,” said Warren. “What counts is the fighters, and the fighters are getting life-changing money for these fights. We can’t stand in the way for whatever reasons we might. So they will take place. There will be more bigger fights next year that we’ll be working on, providing our guys come through. We’ll be working in association with each other in quite a few of the events. So, I’m looking forward to it because I think this is the start of something really, really big.

“This is a magnificent night of boxing, and as Eddie said, neither of us has been in a show like this before. We’ve never seen anything like it, and it goes from strength to strength.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.