By Dan Ambrose: Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing is enthusiastic about the schedule he’s put together for DAZN in October, November, and December. He feels that he’s giving fans great value with some of the fights he’s put together.
Hearn is optimistic that Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin will be both be back inside the ring before the end of 2020 in fights that will set-up a trilogy match between them on Cinco de Mayo in May 2021.
From the UK side, IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will be fighting Kubrat Pulev on December 12th.
If Joshua wins that fight, and WBC champ Tyson Fury comes out victorious in his December 5th contest, the two will be battling it out ni early 2021 in an undisputed contest.
Hearn excited about DAZN schedule
“Despite the negativity for DAZN, they’re unrivaled in terms of money for their subscribers, and they’re unrivaled in terms of their schedule,” said Hearn to SI Boxing with Chris Mannix.
“So when we look at the program moving forward, you have Danny Jacobs against Rosado, you have Canelo, GGG, it’s nonstop action. Katie Taylor headlines a tripleheader as well.
“If you look at the schedule of every individual network from now until the end of the year, the most consistent, the most value for money is once again is brought to you by DAZN. Canelo is still the unanswered question.
“Time is ticking on that one, but I think they’re [DAZN] are in a great spot and a great position. Every business in every sport is saying, ‘Let’s get through 2020.’ Maybe every person is saying that as well. I really believe the schedule is fantastic, and I believe the guys have gone a great job.
“DAZN wants Canelo to box this year, and Canelo wants to box this year. So that’s a great start. Here you have a situation where people want to resolve it. One of the best fights is Ryan Garcia vs Luke Campbell, and you’ve got Anthony Joshua against Pulev,” said Hearn.
It’s disappointing some of Hearn’s fights for DAZN for the last part of the year. There’s not much interest in Friday’s announcement of a fight between Billy Joe Saunders and Martin Murray for December 4th. Likewise, Daniel Jacobs vs. Gabe Rosado is another poor fight that will be shown on DAZn.
For Jacobs, this is his second headliner mismatch on DAZN, and it’s troubling that he’s being given the green light for these poor fights.
In Jacobs’ last match, he stopped Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in the fifth round last December. Chavez’s career has been in decline for many years, and it was pointless for Jacobs to be fighting him in the main event on DAZN.
Golovkin wants record-breaking defense
“As far as Gennady is concerned, he wants to get that record-breaking defense,” said Hearn. That’s keeping him. We know we have a mandatory in Kamil Szeremeta.
“It’s just difficult because the game has changed. You’re behind closed doors, and the arguement for the broadcaster is that it doesn’t deliver the same kind of value than it did.
“When Canelo Alvarez boxes this year, it’ll be in a studio or a closed arena. The plan for Gennadiy is to get him out, get the Kamil Szeremeta event and then the plan remains the same.
“It’s Canelo Alvarez on Cinco de Mayo with hopefully the world back to normal. It’s very frustrating because some of our fighters haven’t boxed for a year. Anyone that’s boxed in 2020 is blessed.
“I think every fighter is looking at it now as ‘Let me get my date in, and let me get my career back on track.’ You’ve got eight weeks to box this year. Otherwise you’ve to be planning for January or February,” Hearn said.
It might mean something to Golovkin to break a record for title defenses, but it won’t for the average boxing fan. The fans are more interested in seeing Golovkin face a quality opponent that they care about.
He won’t be doing that if he insists on defending his IBF 160-lb title against the little known Szeremeta. You can understand why Golovkin doesn’t want to give up his IBF title, as it was difficult for him to capture the belt.
But at this late stage of the 38-year-old Golovkin’s career, it’s more important that he faces the best rather than choosing to take easy fights.
With the third match with Canelo Alvarez possible for Golovkin in May 2021, it appears that GGG doesn’t want to take any chances of him losing. Golovkin defending his IBF title against Kamil Szemereta is basically an easy tune-up for him.
Although Szeremeta is ranked high with the International Boxing Federation, his resume is completely barren of recognizable names. In other words, Szeremeta hasn’t done anything to deserve a title shot.
Hearn expects GGG to fight in 2020
“Yeah, that has to be the focus of Gennady Golovkin,” Hearn said when asked if he thinks GGG will fight in 2020.
“You have to weigh out the schedule for DAZN. DAZN is paying a lot of money for that fight [GGG vs. Szeremeta], and they’ll decide when to go with that fight.
“But Gennady Golovkin is one of those guys who hasn’t fought since October 2019. That’s a long time. The main thing if you’re managing the career of Gennady Golovkin is to secure that big fight [with Canelo] on Cinco de Mayo.
“So really whether you box in December or January, you hope that you come through Szeremeta all clear, and then you can go straight into that fight [with Canelo].
“Any fighter, it’s a psychological blow to have the 2020 calendar without a fight in it,” said Hearn.
It’s not looking good for GGG (40-1-1, 35 KOs) to fight this year, as nothing is being said by him or his team about his next fight. You can argue that Golovkin is as quiet as Deontay Wilder, and it’s unknown whether he’s eager to fight in 2020.
You have to wonder about DAZN’s thoughts on Golovkin defending his IBF title against the little known Kamil Szeremeta. DAZN is paying Golovkin a lot of money to bring in subscribers to their platform, and he’s not likely to do that if his next opponent is Szeremeta.
You can argue that the Golovkin vs. Szeremeta fight will be every bit as bad as a match between Canelo and Avi Yildirim. There’s no difference between Szeremeta and Yildirim in terms of name recognition, as well as their chances of making the fights competitive.
Golovkin would be doing DAZN a huge favor if he vacated his IBF middleweight title and moved on to face someone talented like Jermall Charlo, Demetrius Andrade, or Callum Smith. At this point, boxing fans would be interested in seeing a rematch between Golovkin and Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
Any of those options would be far better than watching GGG defend against an over-matched fighter like Szeremeta.
Eddie surprised by Wilder messing up the Fury trilogy
“Looking at Fury-Wilder first, it’s weird,” Hearn said. “We havent heard from Deontay Wilder hardly.
“Every fighter I’ve worked with in that scenario wouldn’t be able to sleep at night until they got back in the ring to try and avenge that loss to try and become world champion again.
“When Anthony Joshua lost to Andy Ruiz, there were ups and downs for me to get him back in the ring. But I would not let that lie. There was no way that I wasn’t going to deliver that rematch because it was all he wanted, and all he could think about.
“He dedicated that portion of his life to get his revenge and get his belts back. When Dillian Whyte got knocked out by Alexander Povetkin, it was five minutes in the changing rooms where he was telling me, ‘Please, get me that rematch.’
“Everyday that’s past, it’s been desperation to get back in there to avenge the loss,” Eddie continued.
The conclusion that many people have in the boxing world is that Wilder didn’t fancy fighting Fury a third time. So instead of being active to get that match done, Wilder failed to act. In the end, what may have hurt Wilder’s chances of getting the third match more than anything was his silence.
He wasn’t speaking to the media about wanting to fight Fury again, and there was a lot of uncertainty whether the Alabama native would take the fight. If Fury believed that Wilder could be counted on to face him in early 2021, he might have been willing to wait until then to face him.
Deontay might not get a title shot for years
“Something doesn’t smell right about this,” Hearn said about Wilder letting the contract ith Fury expire for the third match. “I’m not saying that Wilder has to come out and scream and shout, but you have to show a willingness.
“That’s probably why Tyson Fury went, ‘We’re not even hearing anything. On ther other side, the contractual side, I don’t understand how you could let a rematch clause expire like that when it’s so important for the future of the fighter and your client.
“I’ve heard Shelly Finkel come out and talk a little about legal action. Sure a contract like that during a global pandemic doesn’t just evaporate in thin air.
“If it does, they’ve had a complete disaster because Wilder is not going to get a shot again for years. So what is he going to do? Come back in a 10-rounder or something like that? It’s all very strange,” said Eddie about Wilder’s immediate future.
Former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) will need to wait until at least 2022 for him to get a world title shot against the winner of the Joshua vs. Fury II contest. But that fight isn’t guaranteed for Wilder, as they could overlook him.
Wilder will need to stay busy and get a win or two under his belt to have a shot at fighting for a world title in 2022. Deontay isn’t going to be able to sit on his backside for two years and then say, ‘Where’s my title shot’ in 2022 or 2023.
The way that Wilder has performed in his last three fights against Fury and Luis Ortiz, there’s no such as a gimme for him. Any contender that Wilder faces in 2021 and 2022 will be a threat to him.
Joshua still has Pulev hurdle
“Moving forward to Fury and AJ, it’s great news for us because Fury is expected to have a very easy fight in December,” said Hearn.
“AJ has a fight against Kubrat Pulev, but before we had two hurdles to jump [Fury vs. Wilder 3], but now we only have one hurdle to jump, which is AJ against Pulev.
“There isn’t one person on the team of Tyson Fury that doesn’t want to fight Anthony Joshua, and the feelling is 100% mutual from our side as well. AJ, the only fight he wants is Tyson Fury.
“We’ve agreed to the financial terms of the fight already. I just can’t see anything getting in the way of that fight. The other thing is Usyk. If Chisora is able to land the haymaker on the chin of Usy on October 31st, it would solve the undisputed championship as well.
“But maybe we have to drop a belt, maybe the WBO will allow it, maybe Usyk allows it, and we vacate after. I don’t know. But it’s really important for us that the fight [Joshua vs. Fury] be undisputed because that’s always been the dream of Anthony Joshua.
“But one belt [WBO] missnig doesn’t mean that fight won’t take place. All we’ve got to do is beat Kubrat Pulev on December 12th, and then we’re there. These behind closed doors events are madness, and Usyk-Chisora will be filled with drama,” said Hearn.
What we’ve learned from Vasily Lomachenko’s recent defeat against Teofimo Lopez is that you can’t afford to assume anything about a fight. Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) needs to take Kubrat Pulev seriously for his December 12th fight because if he loses this one, he can forget about fighting Tyson Fury in early 2021.
Joshua already paid a heavy price in overlooking Andy Ruiz Jr in their first match in 2019, and he doesn’t want to make the same mistake against Pulev.