Eddie Hearn has responded to Simon Jordan after the broadcaster questioned whether Anthony Joshua still deserves to be called boxing’s “landlord”, hitting back at criticism related to Joshua’s recent loss to Daniel Dubois and his win over Jake Paul.
Jordan pointed to Joshua’s recent record, which included the knockout loss to Daniel Dubois and the win over Jake Paul, and argued that those results did not warrant that kind of status. The question forced Hearn to explain what, in his view, that label actually means.
He didn’t base it on rankings or recent opposition. He went straight for face value.
“Now tell me a bigger name in the sport than Anthony Joshua. Don’t see one. That’s why you’re the landlord,” Hearn told Pro Boxing Fans.
“He just knocked out Jake Paul, which I don’t think is the greatest feat of anyone’s boxing career, but he did it in front of tens of millions of people around the world on Netflix and made tens and tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars,” Hearn said of Joshua.
It’s a classic Hearn masterclass in redirection. By leaning on marketability, he effectively turns the win-loss metric into a bottom-line metric.
From a promotional point of view this is a brilliant move as this is the one area where Joshua is truly untouchable. Whether or not AJ is the best heavyweight on the planet right now is a debate for the purists, but whether he is the biggest draw is not a debate at all.
“Pay tribute to the landlord, and if you’re a good boy, we’ll rent you a small property,” Hearn said.
By telling Simon Jordan to pay tribute, he dismisses any criticism of Joshua’s recent form as irrelevant. In Hearn’s world, you don’t criticize the landlord. The phrase “if you’re a good boy” is intentionally condescending.
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Last updated on 2026/04/17 at 14:22
