rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn spent some time talking with Ariel Helwani about the formally announced Canelo vs Crawford fight set for this fall as well as the future of his star heavyweight Anthony Joshua, among other topics. Check out some excerpts of what Hearn had to say below.
Hearn on if he thinks he should be the one Alalshikh enlisted to promote Canelo vs Crawford
“Yeah, of course. Who wouldn’t? It’s a fantastic fight but I don’t think — the reality is that the promoter of this fight is Turki Alalshikh. Whenever there is a Riyadh Season event or Ring magazine event all the decisions are made from [Alalshikh]. I’ve been involved, and you actually don’t get much opportunity to make any decisions because he makes ‘em all for you, everything down to the design of the promo to the on sale ticket dates to the venue deal.
“They’re financially bankrolling the event so they’re going to be making all the decisions. I think it’s a good look to have Dana [White] doing it. I mean, you’re a guest promoter and that’s really what a lot of us are when we do Riyadh Season or Ring magazine events.
“So should I be doing it? No. I mean, look, I think Dana’s got a much bigger profile than me in America so I get the move. I wouldn’t be able to do it anyway because I’m exclusive to DAZN and obviously the fight’s on Netflix.
“Dana’s making a move into boxing for a reason and it’s a dangerous move for his business and the UFC business because really could be taking a lot of the focus off. I mean if you’re really promoting this fight it’s a 24/7 job for three months. That’s how I would be promoting this fight. Different cities everyday. So it’s difficult to be across the UFC business as well but he’s here for a reason.”
On the future for Anthony Joshua after his recent surgery
“Anthony Joshua will return — I had a lengthy conversation with his team today — he’s now back in the groove of starting to think about locking in a date in 2025. So October, November, December, that will be AJ’s next fight and we look forward to a big end of the year.
“And look, we don’t even know if the Fury fight is going to materialize. What we do know is that’s the biggest fight in boxing. Forget Canelo vs Crawford, AJ vs Fury is the biggest fight in boxing, unquestionably. [Joshua’s] in a good place, had the surgery and motivated to return to camp.
“I think AJ would’ve been out of the ring a year by the time he steps back into the ring. He will be coming off surgery, I don’t think Fury’s going to be ready to fight around that time anyway. But I expect [AJ’s next opponent] to be someone that will gear him up for a really big fight in 2026 and probably 2026 will be his last year in the sport.”
