- What's up GQ, I'm Eddie Hearn
and today we are going undercover on the internet.
It's "Actually Me."
[keyboard clacking]
Let's check Twitter.
"Is Eddie Hearn happier for Katie Taylor
or the fact that he just made a cool million dollars
"off Jake Paul?"
It's actually 51.9% and I was happy for Katie.
The problem is he didn't pay me.
And I said, "He didn't have to pay me."
It was my fault, the whole bet in the first place,
just to tell you the story.
He said to me if you wanna have a bet,
I'll bet all my jewelry on my wrists.
And I said, "What's that about 10 grand?"
And he said, "Half a million."
I said, "Why not make it a million?"
And he went, "Okay, shake."
This was in a live press conference.
My bum went, for about 45 seconds.
I sort of ah, and then eventually shook his hand.
We wanted to paper it because obviously I don't trust
he's just gonna give me a million dollars.
The lawyer wouldn't do it, et cetera.
I said to him, "Listen, we'll sort it out later."
And we won and everyone said
"Make sure you get a million dollars."
Said "Jake old boy, keep the money.
"You never know when you'll need it."
Gary Cully, very good boxer says,
"Eddie Hearn is one of the biggest wind ups on the planet."
I agree with Gary Cully.
The problem I'm having at the moment is
I'm going into America with a little bit of British sarcasm
and they just don't get it.
I said in an interview
that I wouldn't be surprised
if I got the role for the new James Bond.
Generally that's tongue in cheek.
People are actually doing interviews saying,
"I mean Hearn is so deluded.
"He actually thinks he's gonna be the next James Bond."
I mean, there could be worse James Bonds but I was joking
but they just do not understand the sarcasm at all.
And that was obviously a comment that,
although I don't know, I think I could actually do it.
"SkyBet are now offering odds on a fight
"between Eddie Hearn and Leonard Ellerby
"with Hearn the 1/3 favorite."
It's quite interesting to see that I'm a 1/3 favorite.
I mean, I am six foot five,
obviously in unbelievable physical condition,
as well at the same time,
and I'm considerably younger than Leonard Ellerby.
But what you don't know is I can't actually fight.
So I actually think that at 1/3 I'm terrible value.
I think Leonard Ellerby a 9/4 shot.
You want to be lumping on Leonard Ellerby by KO
but maybe I've got a puncher's chance.
Well, to be honest with you,
this is one of the biggest fights in the history of boxing.
I mean, firstly, we need to do a deal.
It's very clear, obviously Leonard Ellerby
is a minnow compared to myself in the boxing world.
I'm looking for a 90/10 split
on the revenue of the fight
does easily do over a million buyers
in the pay-per-view market.
In the UK, I'm looking for
a 10 million pound minimum guarantee,
he can get a million, let's be honest,
that's a right result for him.
And then the fight's on
and you can all gladly watch me get knocked out.
The thing is with this pay-per-view,
people will be tuning in to watch me getting chinned.
You can guarantee it.
Wikipedia.
He then went to Havering Sixth From College in Hornchurch,
which was not selective.
Barry encouraged Hearn to study
by promising him 1000 pounds for a C or better grade
in his A-level subjects which were
media studies, PE and business studies
Hearn achieved two C's and one A.
The exact story is I went to Brentwood School
but they wouldn't let me into the sixth form,
'cause I was an naughty boy and I was a pest.
From there I went to Havering Sixth From College
which was actually in Romford
and my mom really didn't want me to go to this college.
I was a terrible student
and I had a real problem with authority,
after like I'd spent my whole life rolling around
with Chris Eubank and Naseem Hamed and Lennox Lewis
in New York and Vegas and London,
so my attitude was so bad
I wasn't gonna listen to a teacher.
went to Havering Sixth Form College
and basically there was about 30 people in the class,
after about two days, there was about six left.
And I said to the teacher,
"What happens if you don't attend?"
And he said, "It's up to you isn't it really?"
All of a sudden I thought,
well, you don't even get told off here.
So I actually got my nut down,
a thousand pound for a C or better grade, correct.
What they don't say in this story was
the old man offered me 10 grand for an A
because he thought I'd absolutely no chance
of ever getting an A in A-level.
An A and two Cs later,
I thought I'm gonna be copping 12 grand.
The problem being was, my old man said
"Media studies is not really an A-level."
I mean, that's a load of rubbish,
it was when I started but apparently it wasn't.
So the fact that I got an A in media studies
meant that the 10 grand was not valid
and he downgraded it to a grand.
But three grand, first car, Ford Escort, we were buzzing.
After promoting a boxing event in Fresno, California
in 2021, the mayor of Fresno, Jerry Dyer,
declared 16th of October to be celebrated as
"Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn Day."
When I arrived in Fresno
and they told me that the 16th of October
will now forever be known as
Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn Day
I was actually unbelievably taken back.
I've got a plaque, I've got everything.
And I said that I should go to Fresno every year
to celebrate Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn Day.
But then I found out that it was only
that 16th of October in 2021.
I just couldn't understand
that it was only that specific day.
So the fact is that on the 17th of October
and still thank you to Jerry Dyer and the city of Fresno
and I've all forever hold that in my heart,
but unfortunately that day no longer exists
'cause we've already had it.
So I was a bit disappointed with that.
But if we were celebrated Eddie Hearn Day
we would probably start off with a little bit of breakfast
maybe a little brunch or something like that,
then we're gonna go
and we're gonna have just a day of Matchroom.
So we're gonna start off,
we're gonna have a couple of frames of snooker,
then we're gonna go to the pub.
We're gonna have a game of darts
and then we're gonna have more beers
and we're gonna end up having a fight later on that night.
Sounds like Eddie Hearn Day to me.
Posted.
Quora.
"What does a boxing promoter do?"
Talks a lot.
We create hype,
we get you interested in the fight.
We build narrative,
we select the venue.
We do the broadcast deals,
we do the sponsorship deals.
We sell the tickets but basically we talk a lot.
Next.
"How do you deal with a major loss as a boxing promoter?"
Sulk, cry, go home, kick the cat, whatever you gotta do.
We've had some brutal ones in the past.
AJ losing to Andy Ruiz at Madison Square Garden,
just left there, I just walked down to my hotel
which was about three miles away.
Just glaring into the Manhattan skies.
I love to win.
I love our guys to win.
It always hurts.
More Twitter.
"What does Eddie Hearn truly think
"of fighters like Jake Paul?
"Surely he doesn't actually think
"they are good for the sport?"
Kieran, I've got some bad news for you mate.
I think they are.
I mean, it's my fault in the first place
'cause I did the Jake Paul debut fight anyway.
I also did KSI against Logan Paul.
Now I won't be doing it again
but I understand the market that they bring into the sport.
A younger generation, a wider audience,
not just hardcore fight fans
but once we bring them in we gotta show them
how great the sport is.
So we got to actually convert them into fight fans.
Educate them about real boxing,
no disrespect, Jake Paul.
But by the way, Jake Paul's getting better.
You know, he's fighting at least combat sportsman
and he's putting the time in.
So as I said to him recently,
he's not good, he's not terrible.
He's average, nothing wrong with being average.
There's a lot of average fighters.
But Jake Paul is slightly different
to your average YouTuber.
He can actually fight a little bit.
"Crazy that we talk about athletes putting their body
"and health on the line for a contact sport.
"But we do.
"We play, we watch, we enjoy.
"This is why I think rugby players need to be paid more.
"It's also an opinion
"but great to hear Eddie Hearn knowing the importance."
Contact sports or sports that involve
potential physical harm
should come with let's to be honest, danger money.
And a fight is a fight where two guys are going in
for our entertainment.
And I think sometimes in boxing,
we sort of forget that we are going there,
having a few beers watching the fight,
screaming and shouting
and these guys are going in
not just fight night but in preparation,
the hard sparring,
the physical endurance they have to put into camp.
So it's my obligation to make sure they get paid
as much as possible for giving us entertainment
and entertainment that sometimes can be dangerous.
Rugby, another good example.
Formula 1, all these examples
doesn't mean that an athlete shouldn't get paid
just because a sport's not dangerous
but it's definitely something we have to consider
when these guys are potentially
putting their health on the line.
Posted.
"Eddie Hearn admits being part of
"Tyson Fury's career "would have been great"."
I'll tell you the story, I met Tyson Fury in Monaco.
He was about 30 stone.
He was sweating just sitting there
having a conversation like this.
And I said to myself
"There is no way Tyson Fury will be back
"probably in boxing
"but definitely not winning world titles."
I was wrong.
You're allowed to be wrong.
Maybe once in a lifetime.
I have massive respect for him
because honestly if you would've seen
the physical state of him to achieve what he's come back
and achieved has been incredible.
So I think we would've got on well
but the only problem is,
it's kind of only room for one favorite heavyweight.
And my favorite heavyweight is Anthony Joshua.
And he knew that my favorite heavyweight was Anthony Joshua,
so maybe it was for the best that we didn't work together.
Replied.
Instagram.
"Nice leading the charge in women's boxing Eddie
"but what's this about Katie fighting Cyborg?
"You really want her to fight back in Ireland
"just being a circus, she can sell with anyone.
"I dunno why you have to call on an MMA fighter
"with no boxing experience, it'll just cheapen the event.
"There'll be criticism where there shouldn't be."
I feel like with Katie Taylor, we've done everything now.
We've just filled up Madison Square Garden.
She's had the biggest fight of all time.
There is potential for a crossover fight
that will grow her fan base,
get people talking.
Cyborg, Holly Holm,
two potential UFC superstars for her to fight.
Katie's done it all hoovey grant,
let her do what she wants.
It's not happening yet but we'll see.
I just feel that cyborg is a good fighter.
She's a good boxer, she punches very hard.
The difference with this one particularly is
Cyborg is a big, big,
probably more like a light middleweight.
Katie Taylor is a lightweight.
She's gonna be given away huge size in that fight as well,
she's a huge favorite but it's a dangerous fight
'cause of the power.
There is a way for Cyborg to win in that fight
with a punch power.
The difference between this fight
and Mayweather against McGregor is
there was never a way for Conor McGregor to win
in that fight with Floyd Mayweather.
"Why do you always death stare at the opposite fighter?"
The picture that we're referring to here is Canelo Alvarez
against Gennady Golovkin for their head to head.
And I was actually petrified
that these two were about to chin each other.
So sometimes it's not really a death stare,
it's more of a concentration to make sure
that I don't have to get ready to jump in.
I don't mind jumping in.
Super middleweight's kind of my limit
but any bigger than that I don't really want to jump in.
So I get the security nice and close
and if it goes off, I'll just leg it.
YouTube.
"I wonder what his dream boxing title card would be?
"If he could choose any boxer dead or alive."
Okay, let's be honest.
Mohamed Ali against Mike Tyson.
This is like the dream heavyweight matchup of all time.
You got the legend of Mohamed Ali
and just the fiercest monster of Mike Tyson,
who wins that fight?
Mohamed Ali.
Go back over to history books,
watch Mohammed Ali's fight.
Look at the chin on the guy.
Everyone talks about his feet.
His skill, unbelievable toughness, Mohammed Ali.
So for me, Ali v. Tyson.
Replied.
Reddit.
"British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn
"could retire in less than five years
"claims his dad Barry."
Nice of him to strike me off.
What the F, he's only 46 and he's retiring so early.
How much does a boxing promoter make on a fight?
Well, sometimes nothing.
Sometimes a lot.
Also I'm not 46, I'm 43.
Five years is probably a little bit short
but I could pack it in at 50.
We'll see how it goes.
A lot of aggravation this sport but we love it.
[upbeat music]
♪ Sweet Caroline ♪
"I feel Eddie always plays this on his events.
"What else do you think is on his fight night favorites?"
We're talking about "Sweet Caroline."
"Sweet Caroline" has become the classic at Matchroom events
just before the main event ring walk.
What else is on my fight night favorites?
Little bit of Rocky, little bit of House of Pain,
"Jump Around" we play that
just before the main event as well.
Anything to just build the atmosphere in the arena,
get everyone ready for the big fight.
"Why does Eddie get so much hate?
"He seems like a decent geezer."
I think I'm getting a little bit more popular.
Probably saying that's just changed all that
but I used to get a lot more hate than I get now.
Used to get a lot more booze than I get now
but I would like to think that I'm a decent geezer.
I don't think you wouldn't enjoy having a beer with me.
Okay, that's it.
I'm signing off the internet.