Carl Froch has poked fun at rivals-turned-friends Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren following the two promoters partnership with Riyadh Season.
Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of General Authority for Entertainment in Saudi Arabia, has staged the Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou crossover bout and the bumper ‘Day of Reckoning’ card that featured Anthony Joshua’s win over Otto Wallin and Joseph Parker’s shutout of Deontay Wilder.
Perhaps the most impressive though is the coming together of Hearn and Warren, who were both at the top table for that December 23 card and will be again in the future. They are even set to pit their stables against one another in a 5v5 tournament style fight night – something Froch said was a good idea.
Speaking on Froch on Fighting, ‘The Cobra’ laughed as he assessed the new promotional pact following years of digs in the media between the pair.
“His Excellency has an excellent idea. He addressed Hearn and Bricktop, Frank Warren, and he said ‘I want you two to go head-to-head’ … Frank Warren s**t himself. He was like ‘no, no, no it’s a mismatch’ but he didn’t mean it like that.”
“Listen [Hearn and Warren] are friends now. They’re best of friends. Talk about cash grab? Come on, show me the bunce. I’ll shake your hand. I’ll even shake your hand actually Frank, and I’ll hold your hand. I’ll have a picture taken of us two holding hands. Because that’s what goes down when the money’s involved. Don’t talk to me about cash grabs.”
There’s no doubt that the events in Saudi are the most lucrative the sport currently offers, with tens of millions paid to the heavyweight stars featuring.
Next up is Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on February 17, the winner crowned undisputed champion and lined up to face the winner of Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou on March 8.