Eddie Hearn responded to Turki Alalshikh’s comments this week about no longer wanting to support fighters who merely run around the ring, not engaging, on his Riyadh Season cards.
Hearn partially defended the defensive fighters, saying boxing is “the sweet science” of “hit-and-not-get hit.” However, Hearn says there’s a “balance of skill and entertainment,” and the fighters have to get it right for them to be marketable.
Hearn on Turki’s Runner Ban
In the case of Turki’s directive not to include runners in his events, fighters must be willing to take the risk of getting hit to be on his cards. Hearn has got a couple of runners that he’s trying to turn into stars, and he wants them to be on Turki’s cards. If they can’t meet his requirements, that’s on them. For those who don’t adapt in boxing, they’re weeded out.
“You got to get the mix right. Ultimately, this is the sweet science. The hit and don’t get hit. We get that, but it’s also the entertainment business,” said Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV, reacting to being asked about Turki Alalshikh saying he doesn’t want any more “Tom and Jerry” type fights on his Riyadh Season cards.
Turki made it very clear in his post. He wants fighters who engage. There’s no mix involved, as Hearn is talking about. He wants fighters who put it on the line. He’s trying to save boxing, and he can’t do that if his cards have fighters who are on the run all night.
Hearn has a couple of runners that he needs to stay loyal to, Shakur Stevenson and Richardson Hitchins; hence, he’s being cautious in what he says and not fully agreeing with Turki’s desire for entertaining fighters. He can’t just dump Hitchins and Shakur, but they don’t meet the requirements to be exciting for fans to watch.
Hearn’s “Sweet Science” Defense
“So, people don’t want to watch, or a very small minority of the audience. And they’re the extremely well-educated boxing people. They don’t really want to watch a back-foot defensive masterclass of a guy winning every round, and not really taking any chances, showing any aggression, trying to end the fight at any time,” said Hearn.
Fans who enjoy seeing movement and the hit-and-run style would prefer that these fighters mix it up more. However, they also appreciate that approach. Unfortunately, there are not enough of them to justify having them on main cards.
Fans will tolerate the runners if they’re buried in the prelims out of sight, out of mind, but not on the main cards. When fans purchase PPV events, they don’t want to watch a runner. Most fans aren’t filthy rich. So, when they’re paying for a boxing card, they’re spending money that they could use on other things like necessities. Hearn is out of touch with that type of person.
“It’s very difficult. If you’re having an intelligent conversation with a fighter. If they know they can win every round boxing like that, I can’t really go, I can’t really go to a fighter and go, ‘Look, mate. I know you’re a great boxer and can win every round, but I really need you to switch up your style and stand and trade,'” said Hearn.
As a promoter, it’s Hearn’s job to tell his fighters that they’ve got to change their style if they’re boring, because they can’t sell. Moreover, it looks bad when fans boo them or sit quietly, not reacting to the running. We all saw Shakur Stevenson’s fights against the electrician Josh Padley and Edwin De Los Santos. Those are boring fights. Hearn needs to have “an intelligent conversation” with his fighters if they’re not entertaining.
Turki’s Vision: End Runners
“They’re going to look at me like I’m mad. But the reality is, if you’re not entertaining, you will become a tough sell. And if you become a tough sell, you may start lacking in opportunities, particularly in big fights,” said Hearn. “And His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] kind of put his flag in the sand there and said, ‘If you’re not entertaining, I don’t want you on my shows.'”
Hearn has got to tell his safety-first fighters, Shakur Stevenson and Richardson Hitchins. If they want to be included on Turki’s cards, they need to mix it up. He shouldn’t care about whether they look at him like he’s insane when he tells them to stop running and stand in the pocket and fight. If they want to get the big purses that Turki pays, they’ll listen to Hearn and agree.
Hearn shouldn’t feel guilty about telling them what they must do. If they don’t like it, that’s on them. I can’t see Shakur choosing to change his style to become more aggressive. He can’t and he won’t.
Hearn’s Fighters Must Adapt
Stevenson knows he’s too weak and poor offensively to beat William Zepeda and almost any good lightweight. He has no choice but to run. Shakur also has a big ego and will feel that Turki will want to continue to use him, even if he’s booed out of the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens next month. If Turki chooses to exclude him, Hearn will be stuck with him. Shakur won’t be happy fighting for chump change on smaller shows.
“But everybody is different. Also, you get to the stage in your career. Floyd [Mayweather Jr] was a good example. And probably Canelo is there now, where if I can have an easy night and make a huge amount of money, that’s called great business,” said Hearn.
Turki is still willing to pay Canelo to be on his cards, but if he continues to perform like he did against William Scull, it wouldn’t be a shock if he’s excluded due to no longer being entertaining. Canelo’s last three fights were boring because he ran out of gas after the first quarter of the battle. He wasn’t trying to play it safe. Thankfully, Mayweather isn’t still fighting, as his fights became incredibly boring once he reached his 30s. He did the minimum to win and got by with his hand speed, movement, and careful matchmaking. In the end, Floyd was cherry picking all the time, and none of his fights were entertaining.
“It doesn’t mean if I’m called upon to go to the trenches, I’m not prepared to go there. Canelo is a great example,” said Hearn. “If he’s called upon to go to the trenches against Crawford, he will do it. But I tell you what. He’d much rather get out there without a mark on his face, and go, ‘Thank you very much.'”
Canelo is old and has shown in his last few fights that he can only mix it up for three rounds before tiring. It’s not that he’s intentionally playing it safe. He doesn’t have the gas tank to fight hard for more than three rounds. He’s not trying to be boring like Richardson Hitchins, Devin Haney, and Shakur Stevenson. He can’t fight hard due to his age and cardio problems.
“And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s smart business, but it’s getting the mix right. In the end, Floyd, by his own admission, was robbing the bank every time he fought. He was going in there and winning every round, not getting hit. Thank you very much. The reality is, there’s got to be a mix. And that’s why I don’t think Richardson [Hitchins] is a boring fighter at all,” said Hearn.
The Price of Boring Boxing
Hearn has drifted off from the original point. This is about Turki Alalshikh saying he doesn’t want safety-first fighters on his Riyadh Season cards. Fighters who have boring styles, like Mayweather Jr., have nothing to do with this era. He’s a relic from the pre-Internet days. Turki is the one paying the checks for the fighters, and he wants entertainers. If that means Hearn’s fighters, Richardson Hitchins and Shakur Stevenson, aren’t invited to his events, then that’s the way it is. Hearn can’t sell those fighters to Turki if he doesn’t want boring fighters on his events.
The ticket sales for the July 12th event next month are reportedly poor, and Shakur is the co-feature. Why should Turki want a fighter who is known for having a boring style to be on his cards if fans think he’s boring, and he can’t sell tickets? What this means is that Hearn wasted his money signing Shakur, and he has gotten very little value since signing him. He’s fought once for Hearn against Josh Padley, a low-level part-time fighter with no power, and not world-class.
“Is he a master boxer? Of course. Does he take chances and trade up with his chin in the air? Not really,” said Hearn.
Hitchins is also known for having a boring style and has been booed in recent fights. You wouldn’t expect Hearn to talk about that because he promotes Hitchins. He’s not going to criticize him, but his performances are often dull. Hearn has picked George Kambosos as his opponent rather than contenders that would potentially beat Hitchins or make him look bad, like Subriel Matias.