Like the rest of us, Eddie Hearn is excited about the recent news that told us the big heavyweight unification clash between rival champions Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is apparently a done deal, the fight signed, now waiting on an official date. Hearn, speaking with IFL TV, said the fight getting done is great for boxing, with the promoter also saying how the big one being made makes him instantly think, “I’ve got to make Joshua-Wilder, I’ve got to make Benn-Eubank.”
Hearn says the fact that this massive fight has been made, by rival promoters to himself, “keeps everything competitive,” and that all boxing promoters will be looking to come up with the goods as far as the big, big fights are concerned. It would of course be great if we got Wilder-Joshua as well as Fury-Usyk, and on this end, Hearn says he still very much wants to make the match up between former heavyweight champions.
Hearn is also very keen to make the Benn-Eubank fight (or remake it, the fight all set for a year ago before Benn’s positive drugs tests). Yesterday, upon hearing how Fury-Usyk had been signed and that a possible date for the fight is December 23, fans immediately pointed out that this is the same date Hearn has in mind for Benn-Eubank. We’ve seen it before in the sport, where two huge fights go head-to-head on the same night at almost the exact same time, and it’s not good for fans. A clash of super fights is not good for the sport.
On this score, Hearn says that one of the two sides, either he and the Benn-Eubank fight, or Frank Warren/Bob Arum and the Saudi money men and Fury-Usyk, will have to move dates if it’s December 23 for the heavyweight showdown.
“December 23rd is our proposed date for Benn-Eubank – I’ve made that pretty clear,” Hearn said. “But if Fury-Usyk goes [on that date] it’s not great for either fight. Either we would have to step down or they would have to move it. I think they’re both huge fights. Hopefully they can happen away from each other, at different times.”
So, would it be a problem for YOU if these two fights – one a heavyweight mega-fight, the other a domestic super fight between two fighters who happen to each have a very famous last name – did clash? I think the answer is obvious when it comes to which of these two fights you would tune in for if you could only tune in for one. That said, plenty of fans do want to see Benn and Eubank settle their differences, and hopefully common sense will prevail, and these two big fights will happen on entirely different dates.
But if the Saudis are intent on making Fury-Usyk on December 23, would it be the Hearn card that would have to eat humble pie and move? It sure seems so.
