Promoter Eddie Hearn has been all over these last several days, speaking to media about a wide range of topics. Here’s just a brief recap of what the British hype man has been saying.
On Canelo Alvarez moving away from him and aligning with PBC:
We’ve done, I think, his last seven out of eight fights because we’ve had the opponents and the fights that he needs,” said Hearn. “We couldn’t make the Bivol fight. Therefore, I don’t ever fight for him. So, he’s going to make his move, and I think it’s a good move for him, in all honesty.
“If he can fight Charlo, and he can fight Benavidez, and I understand the move. For us, we have to look now at the big pot that’s now available to make big fights and not just one night that would be with Canelo Alvarez, but making a string of big fights for the platform [DAZN].
“Listen, we’ve had a great run [with Canelo],” said Hearn. “It’s been fantastic for our business, and it’s been fantastic for DAZN.
“Sometimes the numbers work, and sometimes they don’t. I think DAZN are saying, ‘We understand, and we don’t have anything for him at the moment. When he comes back or when he’s available again, Edgar [Berlanga] will be ready, and someone else might be ready who comes through. Diego Pacheco in 12-18 months’ time. Who knows?’ I think I think it was the right move for him at the time.
On Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz:
“I watched Nate Diaz hit pads,” Hearn told The MMA Hour. “You know it’s going to be a mismatch against Jake Paul, don’t you?
“But for it to be a mismatch against Jake Paul, like, yes (he’s getting smoked) yes. It won’t go to four.
“Unless it’s all a bit of a bluff by Nate, what I saw– you can see people hit pads and you know whether they (can box).
“And we’re talking about Jake Paul. We’re not talking about (Tyson) Fury or Anthony Joshua, fighting an MMA fighter, you’re talking about Jake Paul.”
On Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder and the possibility of an AJ-Jarrell Miller fight first:
“Definitely not,” Hearn replied when asked by The MMA Hour if there were plans to have his fighter, Anthony Joshua, face Jarrell Miller as a rumor has indicated.
“The focus is for Joshua-Wilder That fight’s going to take place in December in Saudi Arabia.
“He’s [Joshua] chasing greatness. He wants to beat Wilder, he wants to fight Fury for the world title.”
As for who Joshua may face in a planned interim August 12 bout, Hearn claimed to be considering options.
“Someone from the top 15. There’s three or four guys we’re looking at,” Hearn said.
On Teofimo Lopez vs. Devin Haney and Teofimo’s perceived lack of star power:
“You never know with Teo. If he performs like that, If you want to be dubious, Josh Taylor really is done at 140, but Teo seems to raise his game in the big fights,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthype when asked if he thinks Teofimo Lopez could beat Devin Haney & Gervonta Davis.
“So, who do I favor in him vs. Devin? Probably Devin. Who do I favor against Tank? Great fight. I want him to fight Regis. Another tremendous unification.
“So great to see. I just don’t understand why Teofimo has never been a big star, particularly in New York. Like this kid, he’s from Brooklyn. He’s an unbelievable talent, he’s outspoken, he’s a character, and he’s a personality.
“He beat Richard Comey in New York. It was a great performance, and then he beat Lomachenko. And then when we did him against [George] Kambosis, we just about sold out at the Hulu theater. Then when they did the Teofimo against Josh Taylor the other week, which was a massive fight, a really good fight, they didn’t even get close to selling it out.
“He should be a megastar, that kid. I don’t understand it, but not really my business,” said Hearn.
On the future of Gennadiy Golovkin:
“I haven’t talked to him in much depth about his career,” Hearn told BoxingScene. “But the impression that I get is that he definitely wants to continue fighting. I think at 168, he was 160 for a long time.”
On Oscar de la Hoya:
“Yeah, he’s obviously taking his eye off the ball,” Hearn told Bro Bible. “He’s worried about me. You know, he’s losing these fighters. Obviously, he’s got the biggest fight of his career coming up in the courtroom with Ryan Garcia, I like Oscar, you know, I’ve got nothing against him. He’s a little bit crazy. I hope he can find some happiness. He’s one of my favorite fighters, but he seems to, you know, have this strange attraction to me where he talks about me all the time.”
On Rumors of Francis Ngannou vs. Derek Chisora in December, in a mega-card in Saudi Arabia:
“There are rumors for a third fight that night in December, which could be [Francis] Ngannou against Chisora. I think that’s what they [the Saudis] want,” Hearn told Ariel Helwani on Helwani’s YouTube channel.
On Ryan Garcia vs. his fighter, Regis Prograis:
“You’ve got Ryan Garcia if he wants to fight for the world title – we can walk straight into that fight next,” Hearn told Fight Hub TV.
“F— Oscar [De La Hoya, Garcia’s promoter of record]. The reality is, Oscar probably thinks I’m talking to Ryan Garcia. I’ve never had one conversation with Ryan Garcia. Never spoke to [Garcia manager and adviser] Lupe [Valencia]. I would not have those conversations while he was on the contract. Someone asked me my opinion about [De La Hoya] publically having spats with [Garcia] on social media, which I thought was bizarre. Oscar can do his own thing. It doesn’t really bother me. The reality is, [Golden Boy] will only take fights they believe [Garcia] can win. They don’t think they can beat Regis Prograis because if they did, they’d be in touch, and we’d make that fight next. We’re both on the same platform [DAZN], so it’s easy. They’ve never mentioned Regis Prograis. Why? Because they think it’s a tough fight, and that’s what happens in boxing. They like the Rolly Romero fight. Why? Because they think they can beat Rolly Romero, but they don’t think they can beat Regis Prograis, and if they do, please call me, and we’ll make that fight next.
