By Charles Brun: Eddie Hearn says he was stunned by the news of David Haye coming out of retirement to fight his close friend Joe Fournier next month on Triller pay-per-view on September 11th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Like many, Hearn is in disbelief that someone would actually pay former heavyweight champion Haye (28-4, 26 KOs) to fight his friend Fournier on PPV, but he’s still happy for the 40-year-old ‘Hayemaker’ that he was able to get the fight.
Haye vs. Fournier will be fighting on the undercard of former boxing superstar Oscar De La Hoya’s comeback fight against former UFC champion Vitor Belfort.
De La Hoya is 48, hasn’t fought since 2008, and Belfort is 44. You get the idea of what this scheduled eight-round ‘fight’ is all about. Haye vs. Fournier is the same type of deal as another fight involving 46-year-old former UFC champions Anderson Silva and Tito Ortiz.
Triller Fight Club, the promoters for this ‘freak show,’ targets this event towards the older fans, who remember these guys during their best years 10 to 15 years ago.
Hearn shocked at Haye vs. Fournier fight
“I am actually, even that surprised me,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social on Haye fighting Fournier on September 11th. “Listen, you can’t help but say to Joe Fournier and David Haye, ‘How did you manage to get someone to pay for that?’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIlzOcfIvWA
“I mean, they’re like two best mates, basically. But it is what it is. It’s a freak show, isn’t it? David loves a pound note, and he’s got an opportunity to get money off of someone.
“Joe has done a great; it’s like a coup, do you know what I mean? And they must be on the phone with each other right now saying, ‘Can you f*** believe this?’ So good luck to them. It’s madness, but I’m sure some people will tune in and see what happens in that fight.
Triller has assembled so many older fighters for this card; it’s bound to bring in a decent amount of PPV buys. Whether the money that brings in covers the cost of the old-timers on the card, that’s the magic question.
If you look at social media, fans are reacting with disgust at the September 11th card, saying they’re not going to buy it. However, the casual boxing and MMA fans will probably go for it, but we’re talking the older fans. The younger ones weren’t around when the fighters were still competing.
Eddie doubts Haye will KO Fournier
“I don’t think I’m not sure you’re going to see him knock out Joe Fournier, no,” Hearn said when asked if boxing fans will see a highlight reel knockout for Haye destroying his friend Fournier. “As I said, they’ve manufactured an incredible coup, so I have to take my hat off to them.
“I’m looking at seeing Callum Smith return at 175 in that card,” Hearn said about Callum being added to the Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk card on September 25th at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in London.
Former WBA super middleweight champion Callum Smith hasn’t fought since his loss to Canelo Alvarez last December. Moving up to 175 might not be the answer Callum is looking for to save his career.
Yeah, it isn’t easy to imagine Haye going after Fournier to try and knock him out, being that it’s his close friend.
If anything, we’ll see Haye sparring with Fournier in the same way Sergey Kovalev fought Canelo Alvarez in 2019, looking like he was taking it easy on him.
With Haye’s power, he could accidentally knockout Fournier if he connects with something that he’s not capable of handling. That’s the real risk for this fight.