Eddie Hearn has spotted a way to get Anthony Joshua to the top of the bill again

Byboxingtimmy
Eddie Hearn

It has been said everything the Hearns touch turns to gold. It is a statement that under closer inspection, is hard to argue with. 

The Hearns are, of course, Barry and his son Eddie, who has now for all intents and purposes, inherited the promotion business, Matchroom Sport that his father set up.

The Midas touch

In recent times in particular, the younger Hearn has managed to take the company to new heights after splitting from Sky Sports and signing with global broadcaster DAZN. It is a move that has opened up unlimited opportunities as Hearn looks to break into new international boxing markets. Specifically, the 43-year-old will now have access to sell his boxing pay-per-view fights to North American markets with a special focus being on Canada. Essentially, the Great White North has long been an untapped market for boxing promoters owing to the love the country has for the sport which is, significantly, growing all the time. 

A look at www.betminded.com, which is a guide to online gambling in Canada, backs this trend up. This page lists the most popular online sportsbooks in Canada which are William Hill and BET99. Unsurprisingly, these two bookmakers are famous for their in-depth coverage of the sport as well as the wide range of boxing odds they offer. The wider point here is that Hearn has done his homework and knows how much he stands to gain from taking his promotion business to a country that can’t get enough of boxing. With all the signs indicating that the public will buy what he is selling, Hearn’s deal with DAZN is another example of how capable he is of maximizing any opportunity. 

Intriguingly, we’ve also seen this skill in action of late as Hearn seeks to get his biggest cash cow, Anthony Joshua, to the top of the world heavyweight boxing bill again. This time, the iconic promoter has used Tyson Fury’s apparent reluctance to fight Oleksandr Usyk as a way of boasting about Joshua’s willingness not to swerve any fights in his own career. Hearn was quick to say that Joshua had no problem fighting the Ukrainian twice unlike Fury who in his eyes, is doing everything he can to get the fight called off after issuing a set of unrealistic demands, www.talksport.com sheds further light on the fine print that is holding up the fight becoming official.

A matter of perspective

It’s an interesting way to frame Fury’s negotiations with Usyk, especially as yes, Joshua fought the Ukrainian twice, but crucially, he also lost both encounters, as www.bbc.co.uk recalls here. 

On the surface, however, it is a narrative that could potentially help Joshua reclaim the respect of the boxing world following a few years that have seen his stock dramatically drop. 

Hearn knows why he has not adopted a passive position in the noise around Fury and Usyk despite not having a horse in the race. Instead, Hearn has used every opportunity to publicly question Fury’s hunger for the battle of heavyweight boxing. Whether this is true or not, the more mud that is slung, the better chance of it eventually sticking. In other words, if the public begins to think that Fury has been running scared, then there is a strong chance that they will put pressure on him to fight Joshua later on in 2023 or perhaps early 2024.

This is undoubtedly the end goal for Hearn, to salvage a blockbuster fight between his client Joshua and Fury which with the right narrative being promoted, could still prove to be the highest-grossing heavyweight pay-per-view fight of all time.

Similar Posts