Eddie Hearn’s Strategy For Boxing’s Return
Boxing is slowly, but surely returning to the point where we finally start to see fights happening regularly. Promoters are hard at work behind the scenes in preparation for how the sport will move going forward amid the current COVID-19 pandemic.
One such man who has been proactive in boxing’s new norm has been Matchroom Boxing CEO, Britain’s Eddie Hearn. With fights anticipated to resume in England in July, Hearn has proposed a plan to stage live Matchroom Boxing events in consecutive weeks in July at Matchroom headquarters in Essex, England. There would be five fights per event.
HEARN’S MASTER PLAN
And as far as what measures will be taken for the fighters, Hearn is leaving nothing to spare as he explained during an appearance on the Pound For Pound podcast with Jake Wood and Spencer Oliver.
“So what you will have is a completely separate area within a hotel and no one will be allowed but members who will be going into Matchroom boxing fights. And you will go into a testing room, individually where you will be tested.
Then you will be given a room key to your hotel room where you will have 24-hours to get your test results. You will stay in your room until you get your results.
If you are negative, you will get to go in with other competitive people, but you won’t go home. You won’t go anywhere else other than in that hotel space or to Matchroom fight camp where you might be doing some media, might do the weigh-in, etc, etc.”
Unlike other sports in the UK such as soccer or rugby, where an athlete can go home following a negative test, this new set of guidelines calls for complete isolation. So Hearn is taking the utmost precautions to protect the fighter. He says that the new measures, guidelines, and the first three shows will include only UK fighters.
However, he’s talked to the British Boxing Board of Commissions (BBBofC) and told them that for his fourth show, he wants it to consist of fighters from abroad.
Hearn’s plan for the fourth and final event, which he hopes is pay-per-view, would feature Dillian Whyte versus Alexander Povetkin. On the same card, he plans for the highly anticipated women’s bout between undisputed world Lightweight champion Katie Taylor and WBC/WBO Women’s world Featherweight champion Amanda Serrano.
In constant contact with both the BBBofC and local state and medical officials, Hearn says his goal is to make these shows happen for the betterment of the sport long term. Boxing fans itching to see fighters trade blows in the ring again are hoping that Hearn can successfully pull this off.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
