Hearn dares Wilder to KO Joshua to end his Matchroom empire

By Boxing News - 03/21/2019 - Comments

Image: Hearn dares Wilder to KO Joshua to end his Matchroom empire

By Scott Gilfoid: In an interview with IFL TV that turned into a big rant, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn spend 40 minutes yakking about how WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder’s co-manager Shelly Finkel recently said that once Deontay knockouts out Anthony Joshua, his Matchroom empire be over.

Hearn really worked up a lather over the comment. He’s now daring Wilder to take the fight with Joshua to prove that the Matchroom era will end. I mean, Wilder gladly take the fight with AJ in a second if Hearn would give him the 50-50 cut of the loot that he’s been asking for.

A lot of boxing fans feel that the only reason Matchroom became as big as they are is because they signed 2012 British Olympic gold medalist, who the fans love in the UK, and he brings in a big ratings and money on Sky Box Office. If Wilder is able to smash Joshua, then he could remove the mystique that Hearn has worked hard in building up in the last six years with his skillful match-making.

“On that comment, if Wilder knocking out Anthony Joshua ends the Matchroom empire, end the f—–’ empire! Do it! Do it, end me! Don’t just talk about it, do it,” an agitated Hearn said to IFL TV about Wilder’s co-manager Finkel’s comment about the Matchroom era ending.

Oh man, Hearn is sounding like he’s losing it. The rest of the interview comments from Hearn are pretty much him cycling through the same theme endlessly, and having a hard time dealing with it. Instead of Hearn focusing on Anthony Joshua’s next fight against Jarrell Miller, he’s busy droning on for almost 40 minutes with IFL TV. After the first comment about Finkel, Hearn should have changed the the subject, but instead he kept talking and talking. Frankly, it was troubling to see how deeply upset he was over this.

“For them it’s become not about the fighter, it’s become about the business. I mean if you listen to Shirley’s comments about ‘once Wilder knocks out Joshua, Matchroom’s empire is over,” Hearn said. “What the f— it got to do with Matchroom empire?! We’re only trying to make a fight.”

It won’t be the end of the world for Matchroom when/if Wilder knocks Joshua out cold, but obviously it’ll be a dreary day for Hearn and a lot of the AJ fans, won’t it? Joshua has been put on a pedestal by Hearn and a lot of his boxing fans. Deontay knocking Joshua off his pedestal is going to be a big blow for a lot of people. Will Joshua ever be the same when/if that happens?

With Hearn spread out trying to sign fighters in the U.S and put on fight cards on DAZN in the United States, he’s overextended by focusing more on the U.S side of things. Once you get overextended, it’s the beginning of the end. Another clever British promoter can swoop in and take advantage of Hearn’s decreased focus on the British market by signing fighters and putting on interesting cards. That will hurt Hearn’s promotion more than Wilder knocking out Joshua. AJ is going to lose sooner or later anyway. If it’s not Wilder, it’ll be someone else that gets him. Wladimir Klitschko would have done the job if he’d shown some aggression after he had Joshua fighting on fumes from rounds six through ten.

A good question why does Hearn care so much about another promoter predicting his downfall once Joshua is no longer relevant? If Hearn is really confident that his Matchroom Boxing promotion will keep rolling along as before, then he shouldn’t be getting all amped up about the comment. Hearn is going to have to find a replacement for Joshua anyway. He’s probably got two to five more years at the top before he gets beaten, and is forced to be a contender. Oleksander Usyk, 32, is up there in age, and he’s not going to be able to step into Joshua’s shoes to become the next money man to help bring in fans to Hearn’s Matchroom’s shows. It’s probably not going to be Danny Jacobs, Demetrius Andrade or Dillian Whyte that become the next star for Matchroom.

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