Brian Norman Jr’s father Brian Sr. reacted on social media to promoter Eddie Hearn losing the purse bid today for the Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs. Karen Chukhadzhian fight.
Hearn’s Loss Creates Difficult Situation for Ennis
Hearn reportedly lost the bid by $250,000 to Karen’s promoters, which puts IBF welterweight champion Ennis in a difficult situation where he could be forced to defend his title in Europe. He won’t have the advantage of fighting at home and selling out the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, which would have brought in a lot of revenue.
Hearn had reportedly given up on negotiating with Team Norman Jr. after they turned down the $1.7 million offer for a fight with Boots. Norman Sr. wanted an increase of $500,000 to bring the offer to $2.2 million, but apparently, that was not going to happen. Hearn’s final offer was $1.7. Some fans saw that as on the low side, given that this was a unification fight, and it would have helped Boots’ career in the long run to capture another world title.
Norman Sr. says Hearn is a”cheap,” lying “snake, and he doesn’t believe he ever intended on making a fight with his son, Brian Jr. He says that Hearn said in an interview that Team Norman had called him back, showing remorse and asking if it was too late to accept the offer he’d given to them for the Boots fight. Norman Sr. says that never happened.
Norman Sr.’s Distrust of Hearn
Norman Sr. now expects Hearn to persuade Boots (32-0, 29 KOs) to vacate his IBF welterweight title and move up to 154 because that’s what he wants.
“Eddie Hearn is a snake. He lied in a recent article, saying we called him back asking if it was too late to take the offer and that we had remorse,” said Brian Norman Sr. on social media about Jaron Ennis’ promoter Eddie Hearn. “This cheap [promoter] never intended to make that fight [between Boots Ennis and Brian Norman Jr.].”
It’s unclear if Boots Ennis was on board with Hearn regarding the Norman Jr. negotiations and the purse bid for his IBF mandatory defense against Karen. If Boots is fine with this, there are no problems. We don’t know if Hearn has been telling Boots that he wants him to move up to 154 unless he can get the fights with Norman Jr. and Karen at a bargain basement price that would provide them with a nice tidy profit.
“That karma comes around quick, doesn’t it? He was talking all this [stuff] about how we didn’t want the fight,” said Brian Norman Sr. about promoter Eddie Hearn on social media. “I tried to tell everybody that $750,000 [first offer] he tried to put under the table. Boots wasn’t supposed to run his mouth.
“The only reason it was heard of is because we got offended by saying we turned it down, and that’s what started all of this. Eddie did not want the fight. I don’t even think Eddie wanted to promote a fight in November. Eddie didn’t want to spend no money. Eddie wanted to lose that purse bid [for Boots Ennis vs. Karen Chukhadzhian].
“Now, he’s going to try to get Boots to move up [to 154], drop the [IBF 147-lb] belt and do some other [stuff]. It’s about what Eddie wants. It ain’t about what Boots wants.
“Eddie just showed you that he ain’t playing with the money. He just got out-bid by $250,000 [by Karen’s promoters] against his fighter’s interest. I seen the play a long time ago,” said Norman Sr.
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