A Response from Eddie Hearn

Hi Guys,

Given the amount of press coverage Eddie has managed to gather in the last two weeks...not to mention the debate created amongst this board from all of that I thought it only right to ask the man himself for his views.

Many people on this forum and I'm sure boxing fans in general have wondered how he will accommodate the fighters he now has in his stable without the excessive use of PPV. Given the nature in which fans have been burned by PPV in the past it is a legitimate concern so I decided to email Eddie himself this morning and have just had a response on Twitter declaring he will respond to my email in person and answer any concerns/questions I have put forward.

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38 mins Owen Meek ‏@owen10ozzy
@EddieHearn Given the recent signings and limited TV dates will us fans have to once more settle for increased PPV events? #boxingconcern
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9 mins Eddie Hearn ‏@EddieHearn
@owen10ozzy not at all..just read your email will respond when I get a chance mate
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11:00 a.m. - Mar 14, 2013 · Details

I will put the email on this page when he responds.

Nice one Owen (just added you on Twitter too mate).

It'll be interesting to see Hearns response. With the exception of Froch I can't see anyone else in his stable being on PPV - Burns isn't a big enough name for a casual market and Brook hasn't got a belt (and we all know the feedback Sky received following Khans PPV ventures before he picked up any titles).

Eddie.........still displaying the innocence of youth.

Daddy will be taking him aside at some stage for a chat about the facts of life.

Care to explain further Strongback?

Matchroom boxing is actually in the hands of Eddie and run by himself with very little input from his farther...On that basis alone I am pretty sure Barry will only be patting him on the back at this moment in time.

I for one think it is refreshing to see someone in this sport who is not only very open in the press with his views on all things boxing but also willing to respond to his critics...peers...and us fans with any concerns that we may have.

owen10ozzy wrote:Care to explain further Strongback?

Matchroom boxing is actually in the hands of Eddie and run by himself with very little input from his farther...On that basis alone I am pretty sure Barry will only be patting him on the back at this moment in time.

I for one think it is refreshing to see someone in this sport who is not only very open in the press with his views on all things boxing but also willing to respond to his critics...peers...and us fans with any concerns that we may have.

In my job I work with property developers. I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked to work with the son of a multimillionaire or billionaire and been asked to look out for him while he learns the ropes. Initially these guys are super enthusiastic and want to do great things. They show morals and a desire to do what's best for everyone. In practically every case, though, within a few years these kids turn into money grabbers who care little for anything or anybody once their pockets are getting lined to the max, corruption is no problem to the once idealistic.

In Eddie Hearns I am watching the same process I have seen many times before. Give Eddie 5 years and you won't be able to tell the difference between him and any other boxing promoter, that is if he can stick the slog and still be around.

??? Hearn is running a business and trying to make money. Maybe he feels attracting the best fighters in the UK, getting them coverage and putting on good fights is the best way to do this?

does anyone else think eddie looks like a heterosexual version of jimmy carr?

What should also not be forgotten is Sky in all of this, they are a business and as such will put their money behind what delivers viewing figures, advertising revenues and subscribers. All the rumours are Hearn's fights thus far have delivered in terms of viewing figures. If this is indeed the case I would be confident Sky would find addtional dates for Eddie.

Also have to remember Sky have four dedicated sports channels so finding room in the schedule would not be too much of a problem one would think.

manos de piedra wrote:??? Hearn is running a business and trying to make money. Maybe he feels attracting the best fighters in the UK, getting them coverage and putting on good fights is the best way to do this?

It's not easy to make money promoting boxing in the UK. Look at Warren and Moloney who know a thing or two. Hearn, if the tweet is to be believed, will be putting on televised shows to accommodate his growing stable of boxers. Is he going to do this on regular Sky despite there being PPV opportunities becauses he is one of the "fans"? Maybe initially he will but it won't be long before he needs to make money and with that comes the cynicism of a cut throat business. When Eddie has to deliver against other promoters, who will recover in time, I think he will be a horse of a different colour, one that more closely resembles his father.

I don’t know what it is you are suggesting really Strongback. Hearn isn’t trying to feed the world. He is trying to grow his boxing promotion and make money. So far he has been very successful in that. Why would he look at Warren and Maloney when he is currently burying them with his own approach to promoting? The problems he faces at the moment are good problems consistent with being successful unlike Warren or Maloney who are in much worse shape. Its not that unlikely that Sky put some faith in him and give him more tv slots. I get the impression Hearn knows what he is doing so far in a business saavy sense rather than some kind of naïve innocence. I expect there might be a few more ppv cards but I think Hearn will be smart enough to offer decent value on them. Warren is paying the price for being too conservative and not showing the fans enough respect I think.

What I am referring to is the attitude that Hearn's is promoting. He is playing the role that he is a fan just like the rest of us , that he has somewhat altruistic motives alongside the fact he is running a business.

Warren is paying the price of starting a boxing TV station and stretching himself too far. As to his handling of fighters Warren has always needed to milk his fighters to stay in business whether going through good times or bad. If Hearn thinks he will have the best fighting the best on Sky every slot he won't be long burning through his stable. Hearn is also being criticized for sending his fighters abroad into the lions den when their slim chances become even slimmer.

My observation is that Hearn is promising the sun, moon and the stars. My feeling is he won't and will be following the same M.O. as the Frank's within a couple of years. Only time will tell.

My feeling in the past was Barry Hearn never really liked the boxing business and saw it as dirty. I get the feeling young Eddie will be getting a few hard lesson.

When Tony Blair came into power popular opinion saw him as the saviour of Britain, look what all his spin achieved. Tony wasn't as naive as Eddie though.

Hes a promoter Strongback so its in his job description to hype things up. As promoters go he actually has a pretty solid record of being reasonably straight with the fans and delivering on his word. For instance would Warren have admitted to turning down an offer from Bradley to fight Brook on the grounds Brook wasnt ready?

There is no reason why Hearn cant do good business with his stable putting on good shows consistently. He has more faith in the fans I think and realises that a loss is not the end of the world if a fighter puts on a good showing. Warren treats a loss like the plague and as a result we get consertive matches. Hearn takes more risks which is better than the fans and the sport in general I think.

Not difficult to be cynical in boxing but I dont think what Hearn has accomplished so far has been because of a naievity. I actually think hes been smart and seems to be pleasing everyone from his own fighters to the networks to the fans which as anyone will appreciate, is not easy to do.

A boxing promoter wanting to make money. Who would have thought it? As long as he delivers to the fans, I'm happy. So long as the fight are made, I'm happy. Who cares if he's making a shed load of money. Why not go back to those heady days of the 1990s when ITV only showed Benn, Eubank and Naz with no undercard fights. Only the main event and big US fights were showed on close circuit TV in cinemas.

I love what Eddie Hearn is doing so far, I don't really see how you can fault him too much right now to be honest. He seems to want to make the big fights happen and has a genuine approach to boxing and decided to go through the mandatory position to have his fighters in total control of there own destiny. Instead of taking the Bradley fight for Brook he has gone for the mandatory position t

Wonder If Eddie Hearn can walk on water??

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Wonder If Eddie Hearn can walk on water??

He can't swim.

Time will tell Manos. Maybe Hearn can deliver everything he says he can. As I've said I think he is a bit naive and suffers from rich kid syndrome. Who knows?

If he can just can delivering as he has been so far Id be more than pleased Strongback. It represents a step forward from what we have been accustomed to in Britain in the last while. Im not going to take his every word as gospel (hes a promoter!) but if he can keep things as he has been so far then it will be good for boxing. Il be interested to see how he manages his stable and reserve some hope he can convince Sky to expand its boxing programme. If it means having to put up with a couple of extra ppv events every year I still think its well worth it.