Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn has had a cantankerous relationship with peer promoters of late.
Top Rank boss Bob Arum has called Hearn a joke. Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe has blasted the Brit for blowing over a billion dollars and failing to build a star in the United States. Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions has consistently shared a steady diet of critique toward Hearn. Lou DiBella of DiBella Promotions has demanded that Hearn should stay out of other people’s business.
After Canelo Alvarez opted to stage his next fights with PBC through a multi-fight deal, the boxing public chimed in on the Mexican star choosing not to work with Hearn and DAZN, handlers for seven out of Alvarez’s last eight fights dating back to 2020.
Hearn insisted that Matchroom and DAZN could not offer Alvarez the caliber of fights he was seeking that would be worth the investment, and that they were fine with Alvarez working with rival executives and networks.
“You’ve got Leonard Ellerbe, Lou Dibella, and Oscar De La Hoya all completely obsessed with me. And they are all jealous. They would laugh at that, but they would give their left testicle to be in my position with my TV deals, roster, global platform, and schedule. It’s weird to watch someone’s demise so badly … It just makes me work harder, and makes me more determined to win,” Hearn told Boxing Social.
The sentiment comes days after Hearn stated that US-based promoters don’t want him around seizing market share.
Following the aftermath of Alvarez leaving the Matchroom-DAZN nest, Hearn admitted that the calendar year has been won thus far by Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, and that streaming service DAZN will use the budget once allocated for Alvarez to instead stage a series of other high-profiled and desired fights.
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.