Eddie Hearn cooked promoter Oscar De La Hoya today, reacting to his criticism of his accomplishments in the U.S market with fighters and fights.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
After being told that Golden Boy Promoter De La Hoya has said that he hadn’t “built anything” in the U.S, 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 has lost Canelo Alvarez and Jaime Munguia.
Hearn’s U.S fighters, ‘Boots’ Ennis and Shakur Stevenson, haven’t yet done anything big since he signed them. IBF welterweight champion Boots has fought once since Hearn inked him to Matchroom, beating fringe contender David Avaneyan, and is facing Karen Chukhadzhian next on November 9th.
WBC lightweight champion Shakur suffered a hand injury and will be out until next February. He’s supposed to be fighting William Zepeda, and no one knows how that one will turn out. He could lose to Zepeda. The good thing for Hearn is 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’d signed a long-term deal.
“It’s all smoke and mirrors. When Oscar says I haven’t built anything, or I haven’t got any fighters if I want to feel off Shakur Stevenson, Jaron Ennis, and Bam Rodriguez. That’s three of my U.S fighters right there,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social, reacting to being told that Oscar De La Hoya said that Hearn needs to focus on the UK because he hasn’t built anything in the U.S.
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 failed to negotiate a unification clash for him recently against WBO champ Brian Norman Jr.
“Canelo left him a long time ago. Ryan Garcia, who knows how that is going to play out, and Jaime Munguia has left Oscar De La Hoya and gone to Top Rank. He’s putting [Arnold] Barboza in with [Jose] Ramirez, and who cares?” said Hearn.
If Ryan Garcia comes back next year, he could be involved in some big fights for Golden Boy, but whether he wins those matches is unknown. Whoever Ryan faces next is going to do good numbers on PPV.
“Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, we tonked him around with Bivol years ago. Tell me one fighter that is 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 vs. Bohachuk,” said Hearn.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. could one day become a star for Golden Boy, but he’s got 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 that fans in the U.S aren’t familiar with.
“Tell me a star that Oscar De La Hoya represents that is able to fight now and has a clear future. He’s [William Zepeda] not a star. So, a future star counts now, does it? 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,” said Hearn.
It’s still unclear if Shakur or Boots Ennis will ever become PPV stars. They’re good fighters but not pay-per-view attractions. Shakur has the wrong style to become a star, and Boots never fights notable opposition.
“Oscar, as I said, ‘I’m pretending I’m happy, but I’m burning inside,’” said Hearn about De La Hoya.
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