Hearn to stage fights in his garden
Boxing promoter says July event will go down in history as most iconic venue
If UFC boss Dana White has plans to stage events on a ‘Fight Island,’ boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has an even more unique venue to bring back live boxing — his back garden!
The Managing Director of Matchroom Sport Ltd has recently revealed plans to stage boxing match in July and August right in the back garden of the mansion where he grew up in, in Brentwood, Essex. The house has since acted as the headquarters for Matchroom Sport.
“This will go down in history, The most iconic venue in the world is Madison Square Garden, we will be the new garden,” Hearn, who has promoted many world champions including Anthony Joshua, Amir Khan and Billy Joe Saudners, told BBC.
“The thought of staging it outdoors in the garden, fireworks, drones, is actually to build a TV show that when you turn on the TV you don’t see four walls of a dark studio, you see this amphitheatre of a gladiatorial sport.
Hearn admits that he faces the biggest challenge of his career to create ‘Matchroom Fight Camp’, but is determined to bring boxing back since the sport was halted by the coronavirus pandemic in March.
But the Briton is clearly impressed with what Dana White achieved earlier this month when he staged a trilogy of fight cards behind closed doors and specifically designed for an international television audience in Florida, USA.
“The good thing about boxing is because of the intensity and drama, we’ve seen with the UFC, you are seeing a whole new dimension to the TV show,” he said.
“You are seeing the noise, those 10 oz leather gloves land on the opponents chin. You are hearing the body shots, the grunts and them go back to the corner.”
Should Hearn pull it off, he could perhaps have created a template for other sports to follow.