When people mention the greatest rivalries in British boxing, they often speak of Chris Eubank versus Nigel Benn, Carl Froch versus George Groves and David Haye versus Derek Chisora.
Yet, there is one duo that outlasts and possibly outdoes the lot of them and that is the decades-long dislike between the Hearn family and the Warren family – who have been locked in promotional warfare, each trying to prove that they are the kingpins of boxing in the United Kingdom.
However, recent months have seen both Matchroom Boxing (Hearn) and Queensberry Promotions (Warren) put their differences aside, for the greater good of the sport, here we look at how their relationship has changed over the years.
The Opening Act
During the 1980’s, the venture of Frank Warren into the sport that he loved had proved to be a fruitful one, signing the biggest names in Britain and establishing himself as the man to oversee the rise of the sport in the country, as well as to promote it’s best fighters on the world stage.
That was until he was suffered severe injuries after he was shockingly shot outside Broadway Theatre in 1989 by a man wearing a balaclava – who was never caught.
Two years prior, snooker promoter Barry Hearn had begun dabbling in boxing and had a strong start, debuting with an all-British heavyweight showdown between Frank Bruno and Joe Bugner. Following news of Warren’s shooting, Hearn grabbed the opportunity with both hands and acted quick to sign his rival’s top talents whilst Warren was in hospital.
Building up debts of £14 million whilst immobile in hospital, Warren’s run in the sport appeared to be over just as it got truly going. Although, that ruthless, undeterrable ‘never say die’ attitude that is required of any top promoter encouraged Warren rebuild his empire and many of his former fighters would re-sign with him, just two years later.
A Fresher-Faced Rival
After guiding the likes of ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed, Nigel Benn, Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton to legendary status on both the domestic and world stage, business was thriving for Frank Warren.
Meanwhile, Barry Hearn became more focussed on his other responsibilities with Matchroom; snooker, darts and poker. As a result, Hearn passed on the torch to his son, Eddie, who had recently convinced the world that Audley Harrison could have been the man to defeat David Haye – before he fell short in an embarrassing display.
Eddie Hearn’s ability to sell a poor fight in Haye-Harrison was enough to convince a number of fighter’s that he has the skills to help them make money in this thankless game and an aggressive poaching strategy saw the cocky youngster nab the likes of Tony Bellew, George Groves and Ricky Burns from under Warren’s nose.
As ever, the Warren and Hearn outfits were extremely reluctant to work with each other, with Eubank-Benn being the only real exception – where Eubank secured victory across two fights, much to the delight of Barry Hearn.
The Battle of the Heavyweight Poster Boys
By 2018, Matchroom and Eddie Hearn had arguably taken the lead on British boxing, much due to the rise of unified heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua but also because of Hearn’s witty nature and understanding of the modern boxing fan, which made him become a popular figure on social media.
Warren on the other hand, was promoting the former unified heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, who managed to pull off an incredible draw against WBC champion Deontay Wilder, after coming back from a serious weight-gain brought on by a mental health crisis.
18 months later, Tyson Fury knocked Wilder out in one of the most phenomenal heavyweight displays of the millennium, becoming a two-time world champion and birthing demands for a clash with ‘AJ’ – who had lost and regained his throne against Andy Ruiz Jr.
Up until this point, Warren and Eddie Hearn had never spoken to one another and never been in the same room as one another, leading to obvious complications in making what would have been a fight for the ages. Yet, boxing politics got in the way, as did a trilogy contest between Fury and Wilder, as well as a tricky Ukrainian by the name of Oleksandr Usyk.
Although the fight never came to fruition, Hearn and Warren’s rivalry grew ten-fold, each of them slamming the other on various media platforms, boasting how their man comfortably dispatches of the other and vice versa, a debate which we may never find out the answer to.
An Unlikely Friendship
After years of bickering, newfound boxing catalyst Turki Al-Alshikh’s plunge into boxing brought the pair together ahead of December’s ‘Day of Reckoning’ card, where Anthony Joshua headlined and Warren’s Daniel Dubois was on the undercard.
With both men keen to get on the good side of the Saudi investor, Hearn and Warren shook hands in public and revealed their eagerness to work with one another and make the best fights possible.
Joshua passed his test on the Saudi bill with flying colours, knocking out Otto Wallin and then returning to do the same to Francis Ngannou just three months later, whilst Tyson Fury penned a nine-figure deal to fight Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title.
However, during this time, Hearn and Warren were regularly seen together and it was announced that Al-Alshikh had plans for a one-of-a-kind ‘Matchroom versus Queensberry’ card to celebrate their improved relationship and test their fighters against their rivals’.
The ’Hearn vs. Warren’ event will take place on June 1st in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where three world title fights are expected to appear, if the IBF world title becomes vacant this week following the aftermath of Fury-Usyk.
This card will now feature Dmitry Bivol and Malik Zinad, after an unfortunate injury to Artur Beterbiev that has caused a delay to the much-craved undisputed light-heavyweight war, and will be available to watch live on DAZN PPV and TNT Sports Box Office.
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