Matchroom chairman says boxing needs rivalry, not unity, and insists Dana White is “nowhere near my league
Eddie Hearn says boxing has become too friendly and insists he has no interest in falling behind Turki Alalshikh’s vision of promoter unity. The Matchroom chairman says he would rather compete than pose for “peace talks” as the sport enters a new era.
“I went to war with Frank Warren for 15 years,” Hearn said on talkSPORT. “I loved every moment of it. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely aged me, but it was tough work.”
Hearn then turned his attention to Dana White, dismissing suggestions that the UFC boss represents a major threat to his position in boxing.
“I don’t care who he’s backed by. You’re as good as you are, and he isn’t anywhere near my league,” Hearn said. “All this talk about peace talks, I’ve got to be honest with you, I don’t want peace talks.”
“I want war talks because I had 15 years of war, and it was the greatest time of my career.”
Hearn admitted that his long-running rivalry with Frank Warren has cooled in recent years, but believes boxing has lost some of its edge as a result.
“Now we’re all playing nice, and I’m glad we do because I like going out to dinner with Frank and George. But it’s boring, Jim. I know what you guys want. You guys want beef. You want the violence in and out of the ring.”
Looking ahead to next week’s meeting, Hearn said he has little interest in staging a publicity event designed to present boxing’s major promoters as a united front.
“So for me, when we have those meetings next week that Turki Alalshikh wants, it’s not just a case of us having a photo with all our hands in the middle. I want to see who’s the best.”
The comments come as Alalshikh continues working to bring boxing’s biggest promoters together while expanding his partnership with Dana White and TKO. Hearn has already said he is not interested in White becoming involved in the promotion of the planned Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury fight, arguing that the current contract does not allow it.
