Eddie Hearn Takes Over The World
January 18, 2017 Jason Goldstein Boxing,
Opinion
Eddie Hearn is the top promoter in boxing. Once the realm of gangsters and carnival barkers Eddie has proven to be a very different type of showman
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For better or worse the days of thugs, criminals and old vaudevillians running the boxing scene appears to be over.
Now it’s run be British prep school grads with perfectly coiffed hair and suits tailored so deliberately they appear to be a second skin. Eddie Hearn is arguably the best promoter in boxing today. He makes fights that the viewing public care about by building up tension and creating emotional investment in the fighters. However, Mr. Eddie Hearn took an unconventional route to the upper echelon of boxing promotion, one of the most cut-throat businesses that exists in arguably the most brutal sport on Earth. So how did he get here?
A Boy from Essex
Eddie Hearn is the top promoter in boxing.
Eddie was born on June 8th, 1979 in Essex, England, a county that sits in the southeast coast of the island country. Just north east of the capital London, Essex is a world of halves. The northern aspect of the county is home to farming and agriculture and is a rather picturesque place to raise a family. The southern half of the county is home to industries as varied as shipping and pharmaceuticals. Essex county also has one of the highest income inequality gaps in Britain.
Eddie was the product of the former.
Educated at the prestigious Brentwood school, also in Essex that was founded by Sir Anthony Browne in 1557. The school was officially opened in 1558. In one instance Sir Anthony is said to have presided over the immolation of then 19-year-old William Hunter for denying church doctrine. Fortunately, we’ve come a long way as a society and good thing for Eddie too, I doubt the sinful life of a boxing promoter would be one Sir Anthony would have approved of.
Eddie Hearn cuts a somewhat imposing figure at 6’5” with perfectly manicured stubbly beard, dresses impeccably, speaks softly and is a student of boxing. He is the son of Barry Hearn, owner of Matchroom Sports Limited (MSL) of which Matchroom Boxing run by Eddie is a part. MSL owns a piece of multiple sports from snooker, bowling, and golf to boxing.
Empire Building
In June of 2015, MSL reported profits exceeding $6.6 Million dollars by the current exchange rate and in that same year reported assets in excess of $23 Million dollars. Crucially, unlike Eddie’s predecessors like Don King, there appear no cases where Eddie or his father have taken advantage of fighters or bilking fighters out of their hard-won prize money.
Like the Saxon armies that conquered the south-east of Britain and called Essex their home, Eddie has raided the and captured the very best of British boxing talent or shrewdly built up the less talented by focusing on personality. Cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew is managed by Eddie and has his sights set on a grudge match with former two-weight champ David Haye in March of this year.
The biggest match of course (literally) is to take place at Wembley Stadium on April 29th, 2017 when ‘Human Action Figure’ Anthony “AJ” Joshua takes on the aging Vladimir Klitschko. Only two days ago, Eddie Hearn tweeted that ticket sales are going so well that the 80,000-seat capacity has been reached and he is petitioning to have the capacity expanded to 90,000 seats. If he can, it will be the biggest fight in British boxing history.
Eddie Hearn has the two biggest fights of the year under his banner and we’re not even halfway into 2017 by the time the epic heavyweight clash occurs!
Perception is Reality?
Eddie is not without his detractors. His frequent use of social media namely twitter has drawn unflattering comparisons more recently to one controversial reality TV star turned politician. Eddie’s sharp tongue and quick wit have seen him eviscerate members of the press and other critics in 140 characters or less!
Fighters like David Haye have vocally criticized Eddie for stealing the spotlight from fighters and boxing critics have drawn comparisons to Vince McMahon and the WWE for what sometimes appear to be staged “heat” between fighters ending in dramatic confrontations to boost ticket sales. The back and forth between Haye and Bellew have left many rolling their eyes at some of the more cringeworthy moments. Likewise, the press conference between Derek Chisora and Dillian Whyte prior to their heavyweight slugfest late last year descended into a melee that had more than one in the press row winking and nodding to Eddie.
One thing cannot be argued is Eddie delivers! The cards are always stacked with fan friendly match ups that give British fighters their due.
History Repeats
It is important to understand that boxing was not always looked down upon as a sport or as entertainment.
Boxing may be on the cusp of enjoying a second “golden age” under the auspices of Mr. Eddie Hearn but first George Lewis “Tex” Rickard was the man who brought boxing out of the fields and dives and into the history books.
Born in Kansas City Missouri on January 2nd, 1870 Tex Rickard lived a life improbable today.
Born just five years after the end of the bloody American Civil war Tex spent his youth growing up in Sherman Texas. At 23 and newly married he became the Marshal of Henrietta where he gained the nickname Tex. His young wife and child died suddenly and tragically forcing Tex to pull stakes. He headed for Alaska in 1895, sight of the recent gold rush. He ultimately sold his holdings for the tremendous sum of $60,000 and opened his first saloon, The Northern. Tex liked gamble too and he would come up snake eyes, around 1899 he lost everything.
That same year while making ends meet as a bartender Tex promoted his first boxing match in Nome, AK. He was still prospecting as well and while in Nome met legendary lawman Wyatt Earp! They hit it off immediately as Wyatt was also a boxing fan and had even refereed a few of those early bare knuckle slugfests. The two men would remain lifelong friends and died one month apart.
Making History
Tex would largely disappear from the boxing scene until 1910 when he promoted “The Fight of the Century” between challenger James J. Jeffries and Heavyweight Champion Jack Johnson in Reno, Nevada.
Tex shrewdly exploited the strong racial undertones as Jeffries was famously billed as “The Great White Hope” against the first African-American champion, Johnson. The ending of the fight was academic as Johnson took control by the 4th round and battered Jeffries through 15 rounds until ultimately Tex himself intervened to save Jeffries from any more punishment.
By the 1920s boxing was king in American sports life. It was highly likely that more people knew who the heavyweight champion of the world was than the president and was likely more trusted.
From 1921-27 Tex Rickard has formed a powerful promotional alliance with then champion Jack Dempsey and his manager Jack Kearns. In that six-year period alone the three would gross $8.4 Million dollars, a stupendous sum for the age. Tex co-promoted with Jess McMahon, the grandfather of WWE owner Vince McMahon. One can only speculate who influenced who, how much of the ring psychology used by the greatest boxing promoter in the sport pollinated the most powerful family in ‘sports entertainment.’
Tex Rickard’s influence extended to Hockey as well, he founded the NHL team the New York Rangers the name of the team deriving as an homage to Rickard’s time as a Texas Marshal. Rickard also helped fund and build the third incarnation of Madison Square Garden that continues to host the greatest spectacles in combat sports to this day.
George Lewis “Tex” Rickard died on January 6th, 1929 days after his 59th birthday in Miami Florida from complications following an appendectomy.
Coming Full Circle
The greatest contribution Tex Rickard made to boxing was adding an air of respectability. He saw the potential for the sport to become the greatest attraction on Earth. He was not a thug, a gangster or crook himself though he undoubtedly was ethically flexible, men like Don King make him look like an altar boy in comparison. It was Tex Rickard who gave birth to Boxing’s Golden Age.
Eddie Hearn too is a well-educated if daft proper English gentleman following the foot-steps of Tex Rickard at his best. Playing on the emotions of the public, creating ‘Good Guys’ and ‘Bad Guys’ blending just enough of the pro wrestling flair for the dramatic with the immediacy and very real violence of boxing.
There are upstart promoters as well, all of them of note are former fighters. Mike Tyson tried his hand a few years ago, with “Iron Mike Promotions,” which failed.
Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions struggles to maintain its share of the market and reputation due to a perceived unwillingness to make certain fights happen.
More recently Floyd Mayweather’s “Mayweather Promotions” has had a successful run at least thus far. Mayweather promotions joined forces with Eddie’s Matchroom Boxing to co-promote the phenomenal fight just this past weekend between Badou Jack and James Degale.
It’s clear however that Eddie Hearn at just 37 sits atop the promotional throne for the time being and seems like the most likely successor to completely take over Bob Arum’s spot as one of the most powerful men in boxing without a pair of gloves on.
What Others
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