‘It’s about having fun’
ELEVEN days after the meltdown in Jeddah, Eddie Hearn is back in the Middle East, announcing Matchroom’s latest global expansion into Abu Dhabi with the lightheavyweight title fight between Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto Ramirez. That night in Saudi Arabia is already in the rearview mirror.
“Life’s about having fun,” he had told his hosts at the end of the press conference in a room facing the Etihad Arena where the fight will take place. Hearn remains incredibly driven to push out the reach of his company – into Australia next month, the United Arab Emirates the month after, all while putting on fights in the US, UK and Mexico.
You don’t get to where Hearn is without learning to adapt. Some you win, some you lose and while Anthony Joshua’s loss to Oleksandr Usyk and subsequent rage in the ring might be seen as Hearn’s golden goose being truly plucked, Hearn is having none of it.
Joshua’s return is already being planned for December 10 or 17, with three more fights in 2023. There is even talk of a world tour, with fights in China and Sydney.
“I’m really excited,” Hearn said. “It feels like a massive weight has been lifted. I feel like his little implosion was
