It’s a ‘Three-Peat’ for Eddie Hearn, the 2018 TSS Promoter of the Year

Published

6 years ago

December 18, 2018

Sean Nam

One billion.

That was the glitzy number rolling off the lips of men and women in sharp business suits as they knocked back glasses of champagne atop a rooftop garden in midtown Manhattan back in early May. It was here, in the commercial capital of the world, that UK promoter Eddie Hearn announced an eight-year deal with subscription streaming platform, DAZN, in a play to dramatically alter how boxing is consumed and disseminated — all, yes, to the tune of one billion walloping dollars. The fine print let you know, of course, that only two years were guaranteed, among other caveats. But who was counting? Certainly not Hearn (pictured with his father, Matchroom Sport founder Barry Hearn), whose enterprising ways once again, for the third year in a row, make him TSS 2018 Promoter of the Year.

Some readers will find the honor redundant, perhaps even dubious. But if Hearn’s work in 2016 and 2017 at Matchroom might be charitably described as “domestic-level,” his endeavors this past year were far more international and innovative in scope.

No one would have begrudged Hearn if he had decided to stay put in an Essex abode and oversee, twice a year, what is by now one of the great sporting spectacles today: an Anthony Joshua fight, which depending on whether it takes place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff or at Wembley Stadium in London, typically draws upwards of 75,000 spectators. But the inexhaustible Hearn, smelling fame and fortune across the Atlantic, had other ambitions in mind other than counting “AJ” gate receipts and PPV revenue from the comfort of his chaise lounge.

“I am trying to do what no UK promoter has ever done,” said Hearn shortly after announcing the DAZN deal. “Everybody wants us to fail, just like they did when we came into the UK five or six years ago, but this deal gives me a chance. In six years’ time we want to be the No 1 promoter in America.”

That last statement might make a veteran US promoter like Bob Arum keel over on the floor in stitches. But the fact remains that Hearn arrives with more ammunition than any British outsider since the colonial days. By linking up with DAZN — a startup bankrolled by billionaire Len Blavatnik and helmed by ex-ESPN head John Skipper — Hearn boasts the infrastructure to grow his firm into an American and perhaps even global powerhouse. But it is his position at the forefront of the new technology that DAZN represents that makes Hearn the most noteworthy promoter of the past year. If streaming is the future (as seemingly everyone in the sports media aisle seems to think), Hearn wants to be sure that he has a seat at the table.

Through Hearn, DAZN, the self-styled “Netflix of Sports,” has bulldozed its way into the American boxing market at a time in which the industry has never looked more in flux and fragmented. The news that HBO would no longer showcase boxing sent shockwaves across the industry, but for purely sentimental reasons. In reality, the boxing business had long outgrown the diminishing offerings from HBO. How Hearn will steer his company in this new landscape as DAZN’s chief content provider will be a key story in the coming years.

Hearn launched the first DAZN boxing card in September with the Anthony Joshua-Alexander Povetkin fight in Cardiff. October was even busier. The first DAZN show in the US was held in Chicago and showcased the likes of Artur Beterbiev, Danny Roman, Katie Tayler, and Jarrell Miller, as well as the main event pairing Jessie Vargas against Thomas Dulorme. A few weeks later, Hearn promoted one of the last HBO shows at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden featuring the tightly-contested middleweight title match between his charge Daniel Jacobs and Sergiy Derevyanchenko. The following weekend, Hearn flew up to Boston to stage another middleweight showdown on DAZN headlined by new signee Demetrius Andrade. Tevin Farmer, another DAZN signee, fought on the undercard.

But what has truly earned Hearn goodwill with boxing’s finicky hardcore fanbase was his decision to put his weight behind the World Boxing Super Series, the much-lauded tournament series that lacked a significant and serious broadcast partner in its first iteration. An otherworldly talent like knockout artist Naoya Inoue, who is currently participating in the bantamweight tournament, deserves to seen by a US audience.

In a hint at his global designs, Hearn announced recently that Matchroom/DAZN would begin staging eight boxing cards a year in Italy, where DAZN currently has a significant presence in the soccer scene (Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is a global ambassador for DAZN).

But for all the initial fanfare, the past year for Hearn has not been without its learning curves. His bold promise (or was it brash gloating?) to lure marketable US fighters aligned with Al Haymon, including Gervonta Davis, Adrien Broner, and the Charlo twins, fell flat on its face when the PBC announced its output deal with Fox, in addition to renewing its commitment with Showtime. And while Beterbiev, Andrade, Farmer, and Miller are nothing to scoff at, they are hardly the kind of fighters entrusted to bring major credibility and recognition to a brand sorely in need of both. Indeed, the splash that DAZN was looking for would come later in the year and without Hearn’s involvement: the signing of Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to an exclusive contract estimated to be worth $365 million.

Furthermore, though Hearn signing unified cruiserweight titleholder Oleksandr Uysk certainly deserves praise, his current roster of US fighters are not as impressive as he would have you believe. The November 17 show pitting a mismatch between Jarrell Miller and Bogdan Dinu and as well as a tawdry assortment of over-the-hill fighters, like Brandon Rios and Gabriel Rosado, in boxing backwater Kansas City was an obvious clunker.

Still, there has been no promoter in 2018 more joined to the efforts, for better or worse, to reinvent the sport. Who knows, maybe six years from now Hearn will find himself back safely ensconced in his London office happily hyping a homegrown contender from Yorkshire, and DAZN, blanched and faded from years of financial hemorrhaging, will have been auctioned off to some Silicon Valley unicorn at pennies to the dollar. Maybe.

In any case, should Hearn seek to add another TSS trophy to his Chippendale cabinet for a four-peat, he need only do one simple thing in 2019: cut the dillydallying and make the heavyweight matchup that everyone wants to see in Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder. Like many of the sport’s most colorful impresarios before him, Hearn has attracted both admiration and disgust at a fever pitch. He will have much more of the former when he truly decides to play ball with Wilder’s handlers and consummate the one fight that would benefit the sport as a whole.

But that is supposing he cares about such a thing. Most promoters, as they have shown time and time again, do not. We will find out soon if Hearn is any different.

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Sean Nam

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Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza Shine in Phoenix

Published

14 hours ago

December 7, 2024

Phil Woolever

Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza Shine in Phoenix

PHOENIX – Saturday was a busy night on the global boxing scene, and it’s quite likely that the howling attendees in Phoenix’s Footprint Center witnessed the finest overall card of the international schedule. The many Mexican flags on display in the packed, scaled down arena signaled the event’s theme.

Co-main events featured rematches that arose from a pair of prior crowd-pleasing slugfests. Each of tonight’s headlining bouts ended at the halfway point, but that was their only similarity.

Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete, now 39-2-1 (32), defended his WBO Junior Lightweight belt with a dramatic stoppage of more-than-willing Oscar Valdez, 32-3 (24). The 29-year-old champion spoke of retirement wishes, but after dominating a blazing battle in which he scored three knockdowns, his only focus was relaxing during the holidays then getting back to what sounded like long-term business.

“Valdez was extremely tough in this fight,” said Navarrete. “I knew I had to push him back and I did. You are now witnessing the second phase of my career and you can expect great things from me in 2025.”

“I don’t really know about the future,” said the crestfallen, 33-year-old Valdez. “No excuses. He did what he wanted to and I couldn’t.”

Navarrete, a three-division titlist, came up one scorecard short of a fourth belt in his previous fight last May, a split decision loss to Denys Berinchyk. This was Navarrete’s fourth Arizona appearance so he was cheered like a homeboy, but Valdez was definitely the crowd favorite, evident from the cheers that erupted as both fighters were shown arriving in glistening, low rider automobiles.

Both men came out throwing huge shots, but it was Navarrete who scored a flash knockdown in the first round, setting the tone for the rest of the fight. There was fierce action in every frame, with Navarrete getting the best of most of it, but even when he was in trouble Valdez roared back and brought the crowd to their feet. He got dropped again at the very end of round four, and Navarrete sent his mouthpiece into orbit the round after that.

When Navarrette drove Valdez into the ropes during round six it looked like referee Raul Caiz, Jr was about to intervene, but before he could decide, Navarrete finished matters himself with a perfect left to the ribs that crumpled Valdez into a KO at 2:42.

“He talked about getting ready to retire soon so I told him we had to fight again right now,” said Valdez prior to the rematch. There were numerous “be careful what you wish for” type predictions of doom and he entered the ring at around a two to one underdog, understanding the contest’s make or break stakes. “Boxing penalizes you if you have a lot of losses,” observed Valdez. “It’s not like other sports where you can lose and do better next season. In boxing, most people don’t want to see you again after a couple of losses.”

What Valdez might decide remains to be seen, but even in defeat he proved to be a warrior worth watching.

Co-Feature

After their epic, razor-close encounter almost exactly a year ago, it was obvious Rafael Espinoza, and fellow 30-year-old Robeisy Ramirez should meet again for the WBO featherweight title belt Espinoza earned by an upset majority decision. Espinoza turned the trick again this time around, inside the distance, but it was more anti-climactic than anything like toe-to-toe.

The 6’1” Espinoza, now 26-0 (22), was the aggressor from the opening frame, but 5’6” Ramirez, 14-3 (9) employed his short stature well to stay out of immediate danger and countered to the body for a slight edge. The Cuban challenger avoided much of their previous firefight and initially controlled the tempo. The crowd jeered him for staying away but it was an effective strategy, at least at first.

Espinoza connected much better in the fifth round and looked fresher as Ramirez’s face rapidly reddened. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere in round six, Ramirez took a punch then raised a glove in surrender. Whatever the reason, even looking at Ramirez’s swollen right eye, it looked like a “No Mas” moment. Replays showed a straight right to the eye socket, but that didn’t stop the crowd from hooting their disgust after ref Chris Flores signaled the end at 0:12.

***

Richard Torrez, Jr, now 12-0 (11), displayed his Olympic silver medal pedigree in a heavyweight bout against Issac Munoz, 18-2-1 (15). Torrez, 236.6, found his punching range quickly with southpaw leads as Munoz, 252, tried to stand his ground but looked hurt by early body work that forced him into the ropes. He was gasping for breath as Torrez peppered him in the second, and Munoz went back to his corner on unsteady legs.

Munoz’s team should have thought about saving him for another day in the third as he ate big shots. Luckily, referee Raul Caiz, Jr. was wiser and had seen enough, waving it off for a TKO at 0:59.

“I don’t train for the opponent,” reflected Torrez, who isn’t far from true contender status. “Every time I train, I train for a world championship fight.”

***

Super-lightweight Lindolfo Delgado, 139.9, improved to 22-0 (16), and took another step into the world title picture against Jackson Marinez, now 22-4 (10), 139.2.

On paper this junior welterweight matchup appeared fairly even, and Marinez managed to keep it that way for almost half the scheduled ten rounds against a solid prospect but Delgado kept upping the ante until Marinez was out of chips. The assembled swarm was whistling for more action after three tentative opening frames, as Delgado loaded up but couldn’t put much offense together.

That changed in the 4th when Delgado connected with solid crosses. In the fifth, a fine combination dropped Marinez into a delayed knockdown and a wicked follow-up right to the guts finished the wobbly Marinez, who had nothing to be ashamed of, off in the arms of ref Wes Melton. Official TKO time was 2:13.

In a matter of concurrent programming, Saturday also held a lot of highly publicized college football and basketball games which likely detracted from the larger mainstream audience and media coverage this fight card deserved. That’s a shame but you can’t fault boxing, Top Rank, or any of the fighters for that because, once again, they all came through big time in Phoenix.

Photos credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Brooklyn’s Richardson Hitchins Wins IBF 140-Pound Title in Puerto Rico

Published

15 hours ago

December 7, 2024

David A. Avila

Brooklyn's-Richardson-Hitchins-Wins-IBF-140-Pound-Title-in-Puerto-Rico

A change of champions took place as Richardson Hitchins rallied from a lethargic start to wrest the IBF super lightweight title from Australia’s Liam Paro by split decision on Saturday in Puerto Rico at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan.

Brooklyn has another world champion.

“I’m just happy to be a world champion,” Hitchins said.

Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) proved that his style of fighting could prevail over Paro (25-1, 15 KOs) who had previously knocked off another Puerto Rican champion, Subriel Matias.

Both fighters expected a different kind of encounter as Paro immediately started the fight with constant pressure and short, precise combinations. Hitchins had expected a different attack and seemed hesitant to pull the trigger.

“I couldn’t get my timing,” said Hitchins. “I thought he was going to put the pressure on me.”

Soon Hitchins ramped up his attack.

After Paro had jumped ahead with a constant strategic attack, Hitchins slipped into second gear behind a sharp right counter that found the target repeatedly.

Things began to swing in the Brooklyn fighter’s favor.

Those long arms came in handy for Hitchins who snapped off deadeye rights through Paro’s guard repeatedly. Soon the southpaw Aussie’s eye began to show signs of damage.

But Paro never quit.

Aside from using quick counters, Paro began firing lead lefts and the occasional right hook and uppercut. But seldom did he target the body. Slowly, the rounds began mounting in favor of the Brooklyn fighter.

Perhaps the best blow of the fight took place in the ninth round as Hitchins connected flush with a one-two combination. Though stunned, Paro trudged forward looking to immediately counter.

He mostly failed.

Still, Paro knew the rounds were not one-sided and he could close the distance. The Aussie fighter did well in the 11^th and 12^th round but could not land a significant blow. After 12 rounds one judge saw Paro the winner 117-11, while two others saw Hitchins the winner 116-112 for the new IBF titlist.

“He’s a hell of a boxer,” said Paro who loses the title in his first defense. “It’s not a loss, it’s a lesson.”

Other Bouts

A battle between Puerto Rican featherweights saw Henry Lebron (20-0) out-battle Christopher Diaz-Velez by decision after 10 action-packed rounds.

In a lightweight fight Agustin Quintana (21-2-1) gave Marc Castro (13-1) his first loss to win by split decision after 10 rounds.

Welterweight Jose Roman Vazquez (14-1) defeated Jalil Hackett (9-1) by split decision after 10 rounds.

Photo credit: Melina Pizano / Matchroom

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A Six-Pack of Undercard Action from the Top Rank Card in Phoenix

Published

19 hours ago

December 7, 2024

Arne K. Lang

A Six-Pack of Undercard Action from the Top Rank Card in Phoenix

Top Rank promoted a 10-fight card tonight at the NBA arena in Phoenix. The undercard included welterweight standout Giovani Santillan and a bevy of young prospects.

Based on his showing tonight, Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez is a prospect on the cusp of being a contender. A high-octane fighter with ring smarts that bely his tender age, the 22-year-old Gonzalez pitched a near 8-round shutout over Argentina’s Gerardo Antonio Perez, advancing his record to 12-0 (7). Although Gonzalez was forced to go the distance after five straight wins by stoppage, Perez, an Argentine who had never been stopped and was better than his 12-6-1 record, had a granite chin.

LA junior bantamweight Steven Navarro improved to 5-0 (4 KOs) with a second-round stoppage of Gabriel Bernardi (7-2). Navarro had Bernardi, a Puerto Rican, on the canvas twice before referee Raul Caiz Jr waived it off.

In a welterweight contest slated for “10,” Giovani Santillan improved to 33-1 (18 KOs) at the expense of Fredrick Lawson who retired on his stool after only one round. It was a nice confidence-booster for Santillan who took a lot of punishment in his last fight vs. Brian Norman Jr, a fight that Santillan was expected to win. However, tonight’s win should come with an asterisk as Lawson, a Chicago-based Ghanaian, is damaged goods and ought not be permitted to fight again, notwithstanding his 30-6 record. (All six of his losses, including the last three, came inside the distance.)

In a welterweight contest slated for six rounds, 19-year-old SoCal prospect Art Berrera Jr advanced to 7-0 (5 KOs) with a second-round TKO over Juan Carlos Campos (4-2) who fights out of Sioux City, Iowa. Referee Wes Melton lost his balance as he stepped in to stop the one-sided affair with a nano-second remaining in round two and went flying into the ropes, but was seemingly unhurt.

In a major surprise, Cesar Morales, a former Mexican national amateur champion, lost his pro debut to unheralded Kevin Mosquera, a 23-year-old Ecuadorian. A flash knockdown in the opening minute of final round factored into the result. The judges had it 39-36 and 38-37 for Mosquera (3-0-1) and 38-38.

The night did not start well for Morales’ trainer Robert Garcia who had five fighters in action tonight.

In the lid-lifter, 21-year-old Las Vegas lightweight DJ Zamora, a protege of the late Roger Mayweather, improved to 15-0 (10 KOs) with a second-round stoppage of Argentine import Roman Ruben Reynoso (22-6-2). Zamora put Reynoso on the canvas in the opening round with a left to the solar plexus and knocked him down in the second round with a counter left to the chin. Reynoso made it to his feet, but had no beef when the fight was waived off. The official time was 1:56 of round two.

Bouts involving former Olympians Lindolfo Delgado and Richard Torres Jr plus two compelling world title rematches round out the 10-fight card. TSS correspondent Phil Woolever is ringside. Check back later for his post-fight reports.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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