The Eddie Hearn Circus

Saturday Night saw another tumultuous Matchroom Boxing Pay per View showdown between the much maligned David Haye and man of the people Tony Bellew. Those in attendance at the sold out O2 Arena witnessed a shock 11th round stoppage win for bookmaker underdog Bellew.

Bellew in the fight build-up had repeatedly predicted that even with Haye's "superior" boxing abilities, the Bermondsey native lacked the heart and true courage required to come out victorious. Remarkably in a rare sign of bravery Haye valiantly fought on until his corner stopped the fight the 11th round, despite suffering a crippling Achilles injury in the 6th.

What ensued following the conclusion to what was for me personally, a disappointing climax to a decent evening of boxing will live long in my memory, a memory that goes back to the late 1980's. May 21 1989, The Majestic Ballroom in London was the setting for the unbeaten Nigel Benn vs Michael Watson for the Commonwealth Middleweight title. This was back in the days where everybody would scramble around the nearest TV set on a Saturday evening to watch some legendary battles.

On that night inside the Super Tent at Finsbury Park local hero Watson stopped Benn in the 6th round. This upset heralded the start of a marvellous era for British Boxing; The middleweight feuds between Eubanks, Collins, Benn and Watson would captivate us for years to come; the exciting rise to prominence of Prince Nazeem Hamed; In addition the rivalry between Lennox Lewis and the people's champ Frank Bruno was also a highlight. This was Somewhat of a Golden Generation.

Excuse my digression; my nostalgic stroll down memory lane was required for me to remember why I love Boxing. Boxing was my very first love! Before Nike Kicks, there was Boxing!  Before Light Skin Rochelle, there was Boxing! Even before Football, There was Boxing! Fast forward to Saturday night I sat in my car for an hour pondering how the sport I love so much had come to this?

You're probably confused by what exactly I'm referring to, well The Eddie Hearn Circus is what I like to call it. Bellew and Haye prior to the fight were embroiled in a vicious war of words. Bellew's ringside tirade after the BJ Flores fight was the benchmark for what was a very catty press run leading up to the fight. Clearly the ploy to get underneath Haye's skin worked, he seemed flustered throughout the entire process.

Methods of preparation aside Haye probably crossed the line when addressing the media and a small group of Bellew supporters in Liverpool. He implored the "Retards" in support of Bellew to bet all of their dole money on The Bomber winning, which would have been ironically lucrative for them. These types of antics may have become common place in recent years, however I am of the belief that these are professional sports men who should conduct themselves in a manner which can see them become role models who children can aspire to be like.

Accountability is something that usually lies exclusively at the feet of those who's action are in question, however in this instance I'd like to proportion the blame. When I use the term Eddie Hearn Circus, I blame him primarily. 

Eddie Hearn is a shrewd business man who has fully capitalised off of the opportunity gifted to him. Matchroom Sport has a long history within Boxing and is positioned perfectly on this side of the Atlantic to profit from the return of the sport to popularity among the masses. I don't want to place a black cloud over everything that Eddie Hearn has presented to us, however controversy out of the ring is often overshadowing the level of competition inside the ring. 

Haye vs Bellew is where I personally draw the line, we anticipated a real shoot out between two big punchers who clearly rubbed each other the wrong way. What enveloped from this was a Haye, who is obviously past he best, attempt to knock Bellew's head off. He lacked the timing and devastating power which had served him so well up until this point, On the other hand Bellew, normally an aggressive styled fighter who likes to remain on the front foot attempted to be illusive and counter whenever he made Haye miss wildly. Four rounds of this was intriguing as any chance Bellew had would definitely be in the latter rounds in the event Haye would run out of steam.

Not to get too caught up on a round by round analysis but after the injury Haye struggled with his balance and was basically fighting with one leg. The Haye corner at this point should have pulled their man out the fight but after "Toe-Gate" a sign of grit and resilience would do Haye's perception in the court of public opinion no harm. Largely he managed to avoid any telling shots from a hesitant Bellew whilst still appearing to carry a level of threat whenever he did let his hands go. In comparison Bellew in my opinion did what was required to win the fight but most certainly gets no points from me. 

Both men in post-fight interviews proceeded with a lobby of respect and admiration for each other and basically revealed that it was a money making scheme, to generate interest in the fight and sell big on Box Office. We get the whole notion of rivalry and bad blood being entertaining but all in all the fight was farcical!    

We as the British public should hold our sportsmen and women to higher standards. I feel that we are way too accepting of mediocrity! How long are we gonna allow Eddie Hearn to produce these sub-par events in the name of British Boxing being on the rise again? No slight on the records or careers of the likes of Bellew, Whyte but surely there is a conflict of interest with both of these men both campaigning at heavyweight when you have Anthony Joshua as the prized asset also campaigning in the same division. Matchroom have stock pilled domestic fighter on the premise of providing them with a platform.

The platform is Sky Sports, something which Eddie Hearn is eager to brag about. He has somehow negotiated an exclusive deal with the broadcaster, which means if you want a Pay per View bout on Sky Sports the road goes through him and him alone. We have seen how he has treated a credible world champion in James Degale, one of his fighters that has not choose to sing to his hymn sheet. James has been involved in elite level fights for at least 2 years but because he is advised by Al Haymon and is trying to build his brand in the US, Chunky can't get a sniff of Pay per View with Matchroom as his promoters. 

Another example of how the circus isn't necessarily as beneficial as it appears to be for the Boxer, is Chris Eubanks Jr. The relationship between Eubanks Snr and Matchroom goes back nearly 30 years, yet due to a dispute over percentages, the son of the man who built the Matchroom brand has found his home on ITV Box Office. This move has drawn much scrutiny for the Eubanks family however I feel that despite the numbers not being as big as they would be on Sky Sports, it allows them to be more in control of things. Chris Eubanks Snr has been criticised for his lack of willingness to let Matchroom exploit the talents and interest in his sons boxing career. "Uncle Eddie" was involved in the negotiations for a rumoured showdown with Middleweight King Gennady Golovkin. Talks broke down and we instead saw the under sized Kell Brook fight GGG instead.

The Matchroom stable has over 40 fighers most of whom are British, but only 6 world champions. There is definitely a disparity! Business is Business but I feel that more boxers should look at the Floyd Mayweather Model and use this as an example sooner rather than later. Long gone are the days where huge promoters should monopolise things, and dictate exactly who fights who and for how much. The likes of Amir Khan have proved that British fighters can establish a following and secure the bag and Box Office number across the pond.

The next stop on the Eddie Hearn Circus is Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko fight in April it will be interesting to see if moving forward AJ allows Matchroom to steer the direction in which his star is rising. Even more interestingly looking back will he have the same grumbles over money that many other prize fighter have had once the lights have gone out on their careers.