Although Matchroom Boxing head honcho Eddie Hearn worked with influencer-boxer Jake Paul in the past, it seems that he has no taste for the sport. Hearn offered his unfiltered opinion on Boxing Social recently, declaring that he “hates” the influencer boxing phenomenon and wants it as far away from the sweet science as possible.
“My opinion is, I hate it. I hate it. We’ve worked so hard for women in boxing to be respected for their ability, for their merits, for their hard work. One thing we must understand is that ain’t boxing. That needs to be pushed.
Eddie Hearn SLAMS Influencer Boxing: “I Hate It!”
All that stuff — Misfits, Kingpyn, all that stuff. It needs to be booted so far away from professional boxing, and we really need to disassociate ourselves with what it is. It does great numbers. It’s entertainment. It’s all of those things, and what we saw there [with Hemsley].
For me, what I’m trying to do and what we’ve been doing for years and years, the sacrifices people have made to be respected — again, it’s not boxing. But at the same time, I think it’s more of a reflection of society than a reflection of good or bad for boxing.
I don’t like it.” Hearn worked with Youtube-boxer Jake Paul last year to put together a historic boxing match between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden. For Hearn, it’s all about love of the game, and compromising its integrity is simply unacceptable.
Influencers don’t behave in a way that Hearn wants his kids emulating, which is the source of his ire. “The problem today is you want kids to have great role models.
I have two daughters. When my daughters spend time or have met Katie Taylor, it’s the greatest thing that I could ever see. Them looking at a female who has achieved so much and shown them that anything’s possible, even when everything’s stacked against you.
Anything’s possible. I think what we’re lacking in society at the moment is role models. Unfortunately, we now live in a world where role models, or influencers, are not necessarily doing things that the older generation, which I class myself as, or parents would want your kids to see or think is acceptable.
Nothing to do with women, nothing to do with men. You want your kids to behave in a certain way. That’s not a way you’d want your kids to behave, in my opinion. This is only my opinion. But we live in a f****** mental world. Unfortunately, clout is just being chased all over the place. To each their own.”
