Eddie Hearn today grilled promoter Oscar De La Hoya and responded to his criticism of his performance in the US market with fighters and fights.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
After being told that Golden Boy promoter De La Hoya said he didn’t build anything in the US, Hearn rattled off the fighters he has in his Matchroom stable from the United States, guys like Shakur Stevenson, Jaron Ennis , and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez. He then pointed out that De La Hoya lost to Canelo Alvarez and Jaime Munguia.
Hearn’s American fighters, ‘Boots’ Ennis and Shakur Stevenson, haven’t done anything big since he signed them. IBF welterweight champion Boots has fought once since Hearn brought him to Matchroom, beating fringe contender David Avaneyan, and faces Karen Chukhadzhian next on November 9.
WBC lightweight champion Shakur suffered a hand injury and will be out until next February. He’s supposed to fight William Zepeda, and no one knows how that one will turn out. He could lose to Zepeda. The good thing for Hearn is that he only signed Shakur to a two-fight contract. So if he loses one or both of his fights, it won’t be as big of a deal as if he had signed a long-term deal.
“It’s all smoke and mirrors. If Oscar says I haven’t built anything, or I don’t have any fighters if I want to take down Shakur Stevenson, Jaron Ennis and Bam Rodriguez. That’s three of my American fighters there,” said Eddie Hearn Box Socialreacting to Oscar De La Hoya saying that Hearn should focus on the UK because he hasn’t built anything in the US
Of those fighters Hearn mentioned, only WBC super flyweight champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez is doing big things. Boots Ennis was elevated to IBF 147-lb champion status, and Hearn recently failed to book him a unification clash against WBO champion Brian Norman Jr.
“Canelo left him a long time ago. Ryan Garcia, who knows how this will play out, and Jaime Munguia left Oscar De La Hoya and went to the top position. He puts (Arnold) Barboza in with (Jose) Ramirez, and who cares?” Hearn said.
If Ryan Garcia comes back next year, he could be involved in some big fights for Golden Boy, but whether he wins those fights is unknown. Whoever Ryan faces next is going to do good numbers on PPV.
“Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, we tossed him around with Bivol years ago. Tell me one fighter that’s a star that they (Golden Boy Promotions) have, and don’t say Vergil Ortiz because he’s a good fighter, but look at the crowd against Bohachuk,” Hearn said.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. can become a star for Golden Boy one day, but he needs to be more active and face better opposition. He was in an impossible position for his last fight, going up against WBC interim junior middleweight champion Serhii Bohachuk, a fighter unfamiliar to fans in the US.
“Tell me a star representing Oscar De La Hoya who can fight now and has a clear future. He (William Zepeda) is not a star. So, a future star counts now, right? Jose Ramirez is not a star, I’m sorry. I’m talking about Shakur. I’m talking about Boots. I’m talking about Bam (Rodriguez). I’m talking about the big names in boxing. That’s who we represent,” Hearn said.
It is still unclear if Shakur or Boots Ennis will ever become PPV stars. They are good fighters, but not pay-per-view attractions. Shakur has the wrong style to become a star, and Boots never fights significant opposition.
“Oscar, like I said, ‘I’m pretending to be happy, but I’m burning inside,'” Hearn said of De La Hoya.
