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Matchroom CEO Eddie Hearn was never far from the eye of the storm. Recent weeks have seen him at the center of two of boxing’s biggest stories. Hearn had a key role to play in the Conor Benn clomiphene scandal and the collapse of the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua fight. Those were just two things on the agenda when the actor spoke to Eddie for the Light Boxing Show.
We spoke to Hearn ahead of Katie Taylor’s expected return to the ring this Saturday against Karen Elizabeth Carabajal. The promoter talks to us about Taylor’s present and future, what’s next for Anthony Joshua, Jake Paul and others in an in-depth interview.
This is the first time we will see Katie Taylor in the ring since she met Amanda Serrano in New York. How excited is it to see Taylor back?
It’s been a few weeks to box, so I believe that Katie is the perfect remedy for that. She is a shining light for sports and tonight at Madison Square Garden is one of the greatest nights sports have ever seen. There are people in the arena who say it was their greatest night watching the games.
“She fought Karen Carabajal as a mandatory challenger and went 19-0. People assume that Katie Taylor will breeze through these challenges, but I believe it will be a real fight and she’s as strong as she’s ever been. continue to dominate the sport.
What do you think of the opponent, the undefeated Karen Elizabeth Carabajal?
The reason why we are committed to this fight is because of the nature of the challenge of obligation. Owning these belts means that you need to kill all these necessary challenges and I’m glad that we found the right challenge, because sometimes you have to fight an opponent who is not your choice and it will be charge you if the fight is not successful. t lives up to the hype. This fight with Carabajal is a good example of someone getting a shot at the title as she has 19 wins and deserves a shot at the title.
“Katie’s problem is that many of these challenges will be able to fight her and really raise their game. The danger that Katie faces is that she may not raise her game because people expect her to win. Carabajal thinks ” Wow, one more victory to beat the legend of the sport and I am the undisputed champion”. She will be very hungry and it will be a smart fight.
What about a credit card? What are you looking for?
“My favorite fight on the card, without a doubt, is Kiko Martínez vs. Jordan Gill. This is a fight that should make the headlines. Kiko Martínez is the little bee that won’t go away. Even then When people said he was done, he fought Kid Galahad, his ears were pinched, before he came back in the sixth round and knocked him out and became the world champion. He then came back and fought Josh Warrington. Warrington did victory in the fight, but in the process he got his jaw blocked. Kiko Martínez is a great fighter to face and Jordan Gill will take Kiko out early in the fight, but Kiko will not stop.
The last fight between Jordan Gill and Karim Guerfi, when he had two burst eardrums and had to sit on the ropes because he couldn’t get up, he came down with a KO and it was one of the greatest victories I’ve ever seen. This fight is going to be a big fight.
The actor spoke to Chantelle Cameron recently and she expressed her desire to fight Taylor. Amanda Serrano’s comeback is another option. What are your plans for Katie after the Carabajal fight?
“Chantelle Cameron has a great fight with Jessica McCaskill in Abu Dhabi for the bantamweight championship. If she wins, then with Chantelle undisputed at 140 pounds and Katie undisputed at 135 pounds, this could be a big fight.
The fight that Katie and we all have our eyes on Amanda Serrano. Although Katie won the first fight, it was a close fight and one of the best fights anyone has ever seen. We want to do it again in Croke Park either next spring or summer. If Katie can get past Carabajal on Saturday, then hopefully we can open up talks to meet Serrano’s team again and get that done.
This Abu Dhabi bout will be headlined by Dmitry Bivol’s WBA heavyweight title defense against Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez. Can you talk to us by card?
It’s one of the best cards we’ve ever put together, top to bottom. Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto Ramírez for the WBA heavyweight title is one of the best fights for boxing. Bivol is now the pound for pound after beating Canelo Álvarez and Zurdo is now undefeated at 44 fights and is also a former middleweight champion.
The main event of this fight is the super lightweight fight (title) between Chantelle Cameron and Jessica McCaskill. An unbelievable fight. Zelfa Barrett from Manchester has a chance to become the world champion against Shavkat Rakhimov. If you have a chance to be there live or tune in on DAZN, it’s going to be a great night of boxing.
If Bivol wins, is a rematch with ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in your mind?
“It’s definitely a fight that Canelo Álvarez wants as he wants revenge. For Bivol it’s an interesting fight, a big money fight, but he has his eyes on being the undisputed champion in the heavyweight division. Canelo will be watching next week to see if Bivol can win but I’m sure he will want Zurdo to win because he is Mexican. If Dimtry Bivol wins it will definitely open up a conversation between Canelo and Bivol for Cinco de May next year.”
What do you make of Tyson Fury’s third fight with Derek Chisora?
It’s hard because Derek is my friend, but I’ve obviously seen the reaction from the crowd and how disappointed they are about the fight. The fact that Tyson has beaten Derek twice already makes the fight expensive. Tyson Fury was always going to take the ‘easy’ fight for the 3rd of December in the end and we thought it would be Manuel Charr, but as it was met with such hatred from the social media, they went with Derek Chisora instead .
If Tyson has never beaten Derek twice, then two Brits going head-to-head is an understandable choice. The reason why people are angry about this fight is because it is something that is not wanted.
Do you think the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be sold out for the WBC Cup?
They said they already sold 50,000 tickets, so I believe the fight will sell out the stadium. Tyson Fury is a big name and people know who Derek Chisora is. It’s a weird thing, December 3rd without a roof but us Brits are a bit crazy and we think it’s funny, so we’ll turn it around anyway. They need a smaller, stronger card because I don’t think it will destroy the pay-as-you-go data, but it could be worse. If Tyson was going to fight Manuel Charr, then maybe no one showed up.
Do you think Fury always wants to fight Chisora, or is it really about the Anthony Joshua talks for you?
I’m sure there is criticism on all sides as to why this fight didn’t happen sooner. If you have a brain in you then understand this, we have been given a deadline to sign the fight as Tyson Fury wants to go ahead and know who he is fighting on December 3rd. Four weeks later, he signed a contract to fight Derek Chisora, so all the way through this process he was negotiating with Derek Chisora.
Why are we put on a deadline when Derek Chisora has three or four more weeks to make his decision? That’s all you need to know.
With Fury tied up, what is Joshua’s next step?
I think it is more likely that he will fight early next year. Cristobal Arreola said he was talking to AJ but we didn’t talk to him. I have no idea where that comes from.
I think the fight is Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua. Dillian has his own strong fight on November 26 with Jermaine Franklin, but I don’t believe AJ wants an easy fight. He realizes that every camp is difficult and every battle is difficult. He’d rather be in the biggest fight available and obviously we’re working with both guys, so a fight that could happen in February or March 2023. We’ll see if Dilian Whyte can beat Jermaine Franklin and then we’ll see. or this war can be. next AJ.
What is the latest situation for Conor Benn after the collapse of Chris Eubank Jr’s fight?
There is a legal process going on at the moment with hearings etc, but Conor Benn wants to get in front of the media. It’s difficult for us because I don’t care to talk about the process that took place but I can’t talk about things that could hinder the hearing.
In our opinion, we want his case to be heard because whether he is found guilty or not guilty, whether he is not banned, he is banned for six months, one year or two years, until the it appears, we can’t move. against. This is all happening behind the scenes and he is probably fighting for his own career and you will hear from him this week that he wants to go to the media because he also can’t say anything.
Jake Paul faces his toughest challenge to date this weekend when he takes on Anderson Silva. How do you think it will go?
Anderson Silva is 48 years old now, but he is an MMA fighter. He is also a decent player, and he clearly has that win over Julio César Chávez Jr. I think Jake was a little too much for him.
Looking at Jake, he is definitely improving as a fighter. You can see that. He’s good looking and a very strong young man, but he probably won’t get the credit he deserves if he wins because the argument that he hasn’t beaten a boxer will stand. Silva is definitely his toughest challenge so far and if he wins he should get the credit he deserves.
What level do you see Paul competing at if he transitions to boxing?
I don’t think it’s bad but it definitely won’t compete at the world level. Also, we shouldn’t really play it because a lot of fighters are trying to compete at the world level but they won’t get to that level, and that’s not a shame because it’s a very difficult thing. He improves and devotes his time to sports. Good luck to him.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Subject of Change
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