The signing of sought-after prospect Delicious Orie to Frank Warren provides the latest evidence of an incredible power shift in heavyweight boxing with the veteran show stager, aided by the calming and wise influence of his son George, becoming unquestionably the world’s leading promoter in the sport’s banner division.
There is more to the boxing business than the heavyweights, of course, but it remains the window to the sport and one that is predominantly dressed in Queensberry goods. On April 5, in Manchester, England, Orie will make his professional debut on a Warren card that will be topped by three heavyweight bouts: Dillian Whyte-Joe Joyce, Lawrence Okolie-Richard Riakporhe, and David Adeleye-Jeamie Tshikeva.
The latest heavyweight adventure for Warren, who worked with Frank Bruno and Mike Tyson in the distant past, began with his 2018 signing of Tyson Fury, then a former champion with only depression, bad living, and a drugs ban in his recent past. As gambles go, and at the time it was seen as exactly that, backing Fury is likely the shrewdest of the many Warren has taken in his long career.
Fast forward seven years and his roster at heavyweight – even if we’re to believe Fury’s recent retirement announcement – boasts belt-holder Daniel Dubois; leading contenders Joseph Parker, Zhilei Zhang and Fabio Wardley; heir to the throne Moses Itauma; old warhorse Derek Chisora; fringe player Joyce; the rising Okolie; the improving Adeleye; the promising Vladyslav Sirenko; and former amateur standouts like Lewis Richardson and Orie.
Nobody since Don King has had such a stranglehold on the land of the giants. Warren, like King used to, would be more than capable of staging a showstopping heavyweight card without the assistance of a single promotional rival. Which isn’t to say the April 5 event can be described as such, but it is, nevertheless, an indication of how far Warren has come since those early days of Fury’s return.
Furthermore, in the eyes of many, Warren has regained his position as the big dog of British boxing.
Though Eddie Hearn can boast a healthy bottom line (if you’re solely to go by Matchroom Boxing’s most recent public financial accounts), and an array of international talent across the other weight classes, the promoter simply can’t compete in the division that draws the most attention. Once seemingly on the brink of domination as he reintroduced stadium boxing to the world with numerous mega shows in London and Cardiff that attracted both rave reviews and eye-watering revenues, Hearn now clings to the hope that the fading jewel in his crown, Anthony Joshua, can craft one last upswing in form to keep them both in the heavyweight sweepstakes.
Hearn, like Warren, has benefited financially from embracing the Saudi Arabia revolution, and more specifically trusting in Turki Alalshikh, yet it was Warren, and not Hearn, who recognized the extent of that opportunity first.
Warren was criticised by many observers, this writer included, when he referred to Alalshikh’s grand arrival into boxing as a “game changer” on the strength of seemingly ludicrous matchmaking that pitched then-consensus number-one heavyweight Fury with debutant Francis Ngannou in October 2023. We all now know that it is what followed Fury-Ngannou that changed the game, and not that fight itself, and Warren, who expertly positioned himself alongside Alalshikh from the very beginning, was right all along.
Since then, we have seen Queensberry involved in every major Riyadh Season show and, most surprisingly of all, the promotional group at times join forces with Matchroom to ensure the best possible fights are made. That alliance was unthinkable only 18 months ago, but, again, there is no doubt that it’s Warren who now sits in the driving seat and it’s Hearn who realized he had little choice but to go along for the ride. Whether Eddie, a born winner, views it as an enjoyable trip is up for debate, however. Though he took the drubbing he endured in the 5 v 5 show with good humor, seeing Joshua crumble at the feet of Dubois in September would have been significantly harder to swallow. Warren, who was beaten to Joshua’s signature by Hearn back in 2012, was back on top at the age of 72.
Don’t call it a comeback, however. Even during what might be described, purely for context, as Warren’s fallow years, the promoter always had one eye on the future and, in truth, on changing the game. He did it when he broke onto the scene in the 1980s, he did it when Sky Sports came along in the next decade, and he did it when he introduced BoxNation to the broadcasting market. His next switch – taking his stable from TNT Sport to DAZN – raised some eyebrows in the UK marketplace but his arrival might prove to be the smartest bit of business the streaming channel has conducted since its inception.
Hearn need not be too despondent, however.
Boxing has often been analogized as a game of snakes and ladders, such is the sport’s propensity for dishing out highs and lows at any moment. Often used in reference to the fortunes of boxers, as they see themselves fall in and out of favor, it is in fact the most robust of promoters who play the game the best because, as Warren has proved many times in his long career, it’s not the snakes or the ladders that define you, it’s the art of rolling the dice.
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