By Charles Brun: Matchroom Sport chairman Barry Hearn, the father of Eddie Hearn, suffered a minor heart attack last Sunday and is now recovering. Eddie reveals that his dad Barry had surgery on Tuesday, and he’s already “up and well.”
He’s not saying what procedure was done on Barry. It’s good news that Barry is doing well. The father and son team have made their mark on boxing in the UK, and have an excellent job of branching it with cards in the United States.
Besides holding the position of chairman of Matchroom Sport, the 71-year-old Hearn is chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation and World Snooker.
Barry started working in boxing in the 1980s and is still working in the field today, along with his son Eddie at Matchroom Boxing. The promotional company has skyrocketed with the signing of the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua. Inking Joshua has helped Matchroom immensely, as other top fighters have quickly followed in signing with the company.
As if we can’t thank the NHS enough, I want to particularly thank the staff at Broomfield & Basildon. My dad @BarryHearn was taken to hospital on Sunday after a minor heart attack and was operated on yesterday.He is up and well and returns home today in good spirits!Thank you 🙏🏽
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) April 8, 2020
Tyson Fury believes Wilder’s costume excuse
In other news, WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury now believes former champion Deontay Wilder’s costume excuse for why he wasn’t at his best in their fight on February 22. Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) says it wasn’t the Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) that he prepared for on the night.
Fury thought he would have a tough fight, but it turned out to be an easy one with Wilder offering up little before his trainer Mark Breland threw in the towel in the 7th round.
“That wasn’t the Deontay Wilder that I prepared for,” Fury told TalkSport.com. “It just did seem that Wilder maybe wasn’t himself.
“Maybe his legs were sore from the costume; maybe he did have the flu, maybe he did have a broken arm or a bone in his back or whatever. I’m not sure because that wasn’t the Deontay Wilder that I prepared for.”
Whether Fury believes the excuses about Wilder’ costume or not, that wasn’t the same fighter that he fought last time. Even before Fury began to beat him up, Wilder looked weak, lazy, and not 100%.
The worry for Fury is what happens if he faces the original version of Wilder that knocked out Luis Ortiz and Dominic Breazeale when they battle in the trilogy? Will Fury be able to take Wilder’s powerful right-hand bombs for 12 rounds without going to sleep again?
Tyson will need to prove his win wasn’t a fluke
Fury is still in the celebratory stage over his victory, but that’ll change when he starts training or the trilogy match against ‘The Bronze Bomber’ Wilder. The American has already executed the contractual rematch, and the two will hopefully be fighting in October.
The fight could get pushed into 2021 if the world situation remains as it is now. That’ll give Wilder more time to iron out the kinks in his game and to come better prepared for the third bout with Fury.
Fury states that he didn’t get the hard fight that he was expecting to get from Wilder. In their clash in December 2018, Wilder knocked Fury down twice but had to settle for a disappointing 12 round draw.
While some boxing fans felt that Fury should have won, others believe that Wilder was robbed of a knockout in the 12th. Fury was out cold, and the referee unbelievably gave a count while he was flat on his back, looking like he was asleep.