Eddie Hearn takes criticism on the chin and is one of boxing’s most entertaining promoters. Even he would admit he gets it wrong sometimes.
However, there’s a solid interview that stands out over the past few years, which has to be the worst prediction the Matchroom boss has ever made.
Some could forgive Hearn for being a little peeved at the reports of Tyson Fury facing Deontay Wilder in 2018 for two reasons.
First off, Fury snubbed the Essex man despite flying him over to Monte Carlo for talks a year earlier. Fury weighed almost 400 pounds when he traveled to see old mate Derek Chisora fight Agit Kabayel at the Casino de Monte Carlo Salle Medecin in November 2017.
Fury held talks with Hearn about signing a deal with Matchroom for his return. The way Hearn spoke about, he was confident ‘The Gypsy King’ would sign a lucrative three-fight agreement that was on the table with the option for considerably longer.
After flying back to England, Fury signed with Frank Warren a few weeks later, leaving Hearn stinging.
The Londoner then put his focus on the two-belt champion Anthony Joshua vs WBO ruler Joseph Parker unification, a month later in Cardiff. Once Joshua claimed victory and held three versions of the heavyweight title, the Watford native received an enticing offer.
As World Boxing News exclusively documented extensively in conjunction with his manager, Shelly Finkel, Deontay Wilder offered Joshua a massive $50 million to fight him on Showtime for all four title belts.
Wilder held the WBC crown at the time and asked Finkel to go all out to make the fight a reality for late 2018. ‘The Bronze Bomber’ had Showtime’s blessing to offer the money, which they had plans to place in escrow, had Joshua agreed to the deal.
But after three months of chasing, bending over backwards and negating, Joshua instead turned to his mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin, who the WBA told WBN would have been willing to wait until after an undisputed battle against Wilder.
For those two reasons, Hearn was left with a wave of animosity towards himself and Joshua for not being able to secure the Fury or Wilder deals. Fury turning him down and Joshua coming out of the Wilder talks with a reputation hit after saying in an interview he’d fight the American for $50 million, didn’t look good.
From then on, there was a notable turn from Hearn against Fury and Wilder. That medicine must have been even harder to swallow when Fury and Wilder announced they had begun talks to face each other only weeks later.
Finkel confirmed to WBN that Wilder would be heading to Belfast to witness Fury’s second comeback fight. It was there that the pair aimed to seal a massive battle on Showtime.
Despite several articles from World Boxing News stating negotiations were going well for the fight, Hearn gave his ultimate prediction on the fight.
Twelve days after Fury defeated Francesco Pianeta on points at Windsor Park and went head-to-head with Wilder, Hearn still wasn’t buying it.
Asked if he thought the fight was going to happen in 2018, Hearn said, “No, certainly not. I think he knows that, and everyone in boxing knows that unless he’s getting $20 million for that fight.
“I don’t think he’ll take the fight against Wilder, to be honest with you. I know they’ve said it’s happening, but there’s no date or venue yet, and I think Fury needs one more. He knows that.
“He’s done unbelievably to come back from where he was. He deserves a huge amount of credit, but he looked very poor in his last fight. He got booed out of the ring. He’s not an entertaining fighter to watch.”
On whether Fury had a chance of defeating Wilder if they did share the ring, Hearn added, “He’s awkward and tricky, which is not great for people to watch.
“It’s effective as we saw against (Wladimir) Klitschko, so I think if he can have a fight or two more, which was always his plan.
“He’s got a very good chance against the likes of Wilder and Joshua, but right now, he stands no chance.
“I think he might have something up his sleeve, but I don’t see him getting in the ring this year with Wilder, for sure.”
Hearn got it badly wrong twice in one paragraph, as three weeks later, Al Haymon confirmed Wilder vs Fury for December 1 on Showtime Pay-Per-View.
Fury also proved Hearn wrong with his performance as he scored a draw with Wilder after getting up from two pulverizing knockdowns in the final round.
Wilder and Fury would enjoy a legendary trilogy that will live long in the memory, especially the first and third bouts.
On another somber note for Hearn, his charge Joshua still hasn’t fought Wilder or Fury in the seven years since.
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Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay and learn more about the author. Phil Jay is an experienced boxing writer and Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News since 2010.
