Eddie Hearn has responded to recent comments from Bob Arum with some harsh words of his own about the state of the sport in America.
The Matchroom promoter has made it clear through both words and actions that he’s keen on becoming the biggest promotional force worldwide.
According to Bob Arum, who has worked with the likes of Muhammad Ali and Manny Pacquiao, it’s not going well.
The Top Rank head honcho said that Hearn is ‘a joke, a clown’ in American boxing circles, and went on to brand him braggadocious and a failure.
Hearn responded to Arum via IFL TV, claiming Top Rank is ‘done.’
“What he’s saying is everybody in America thinks I’m a joke. I promote Canelo Alvarez. We’ve just done 50,000 in Guadalajara, I did Canelo-Triple G last year, I did Canelo-Bivol, we sold out Madison Square Garden with Katie Taylor.
The biggest fight that he’s done for years and years is Haney-Lomachenko. I did 150,000 buys. Top Rank have no big fights … You’ve got Teofimo Lopez against Josh Taylor in the Theatre of Madison Square Garden – they can’t even sell that out. It’s got 4,000 seats. Top Rank are completely finished … Done. Over. End of story. ESPN contract? Gone.”
Asked whether or not every US promotional company was ‘done’ apart from Matchroom, Hearn said:
“Pretty much. If you look at the financials, PBC – done. You’ve got all their star fighters once every eighteen month.
I give props to Top Rank. In terms of promotional companies, they are a good one. Show me the big fights. They’re not putting on any big fights at all … they’re finished.”
The promoter’s two more recent power moves across the pond have been to sign super lightweight world champion, Regis Prograis, and Cuba’s exceptional amateur turned pro prospect, Andy Cruz. He hopes to continue his relationship with Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez, too.
As for PBC they have just announced perhaps the most sought after fight in sport in Errol Spence Jr versus Terence Crawford, and Arum’s Top Rank continue to build stars like Shakur Stevenson.