MATCHROOM promoter Eddie Hearn hopes that the Government can help bring a heavyweight unification bout between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury to the UK – because of the boost it’d give the economy.
The country is in the process of taking a devastating financial hit, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Hearn hopes that the Government can help bring Fury vs Joshua to UK shoresCredit: PA:Press Association
Hearn, 40, believes that hosting an event of this magnitude could make a huge amount of money and provide a real shot in the arm for the British economy.
And he hopes that the Government will also see it this way.
He told Pound for Pound podcast: “I’d love to see one of the fights in the UK… I’m hoping maybe the Government say, ‘We must make sure this fight’s here, so we’ll help finance and pay a site fee.’
“It’s not just about the fight, it’s about what it does for the economy.”
Before plans can start being drawn up, however, both fighters have further hurdles to jump over.
Fury must get past Deontay Wilder, contracted for a trilogy bout, once again – while Joshua will eventually take on IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev.
There had been talk of a potential pay-off to make the Bronze Bomber step aside, but Fury has now repeatedly insisted that this will not happen… and that he’d rather take the American’s “scalp” again.
As for Joshua’s bout with Pulev, initially pencilled in for Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Hearn is exploring a smaller venue in order to keep it in the UK – with the Royal Albert Hall even having been mentioned as a possibility.
A crowd of up to 4,000 people could attend the fight in October or November – with Hearn desperate to make it a “glitz and glamour” event.
On further possibilities, Bob Arum told Sporting Icons: “The manager and promoter of Pulev came up with the idea of Croatia.
“As a matter of fact I spoke with Eddie this morning, I think that’s a long shot, I think Eddie believes that by September we can start doing events in the UK with limited spectators.
“Eddie thinks that that is, and I sort of agree with him, the best way to go. If you do it in an indoor arena like Manchester or in London or the O2 for example, 20,000 seats and you set it up for 4,000 and you space everybody, and you charge robust ticket prices you could do pretty well I think.
“I think there will be a great demand for people who want to be – seated by a person even though they’ll have to pay a little extra.”
Speaking to Jake Wood and Spencer Oliver, Hearn also gave his opinions on the effect of bringing fights back behind closed doors, following the UFC and Bundesliga’s recent returns without spectators.
And asked specifically about the UFC, he said: “A lot of it was compelling, fight sports behind closed doors is actually a lot more compelling than other sports.
Boxing’s different, if you get it for a production point of view, you can hear the punches land more, you can hear the fighters breathing.
Eddie Hearn
“If you look at the Bundesliga for example, I mean football behind closed doors, alright, you’re still going to watch it, but it’s not the same.
“Boxing’s different, if you get it for a production point of view, you can hear the punches land more, you can hear the fighters breathing, you can hear the instruction coming from the corner.
“So you can actually make it compelling viewing, but part of that is when you turn it on.”
Joshua will likely finally fight Kubrat Pulev before the end of the year… and possibly at the Royal Albert HallCredit: Reuters
Hearn has also recently revealed ambitious plans to host “Fight Camp” summer bouts in the garden of Matchroom HQ – starting on July 15.
The idea would be to host five fight nights on his 15-acre property in Brentwood, Essex.
And he hopes to headline the events with the much-anticipated battle between Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin.
Hearn has revealed ambitious plans to host fights in the garden of Matchroom HQCredit: https://www.instagram.com/eddiehearn/
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn talks about future fights after coronavirus lockdown
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
