Boxing
Is “Hit and Don’t Get Get” still profitable? Eddie Hearn discusses Turki Alalshikh’s emphasis on more engaging boxing fights
Published
1 year agoon
Eddie Hearn answered this week to Turk’s comments Alalshikha about the fact that they no longer want to support fighters who simply run in the ring, without pulling on his seasonal cards in Riyadh.
Hearn partly defended defensive fighters, saying that boxing is “sweet science” “hit-and get hit”. However, Hearn claims that there is a “balance of skills and entertainment,” and the fighters must do it to make them exported.
Hearn on the ban on Turki runners
In the case of Turk’s directive, in order not to include runners in his events, fighters must be ready to risk hitting his cards. Hearn has several runners who are trying to turn into stars, and wants them to be on Turki’s pages. If they cannot meet his requirements, then on them. For those who do not adapt to boxing, they are exhausted.
“You have to do a mixture well. Ultimately, this is a sweet science. Hit and do not go. We understand, but it is also an entertainment business,” said Eddie Hearn Fight Hub tvResponding to Alalshikh’s Turks, saying that he no longer wants to fight the type of “Tom and Jerry” on his Riyadh season cards.
Turki explained very much in his position. He wants to engage fighters. There is no mixture, as Hearn says. He wants fighters who placed it on the line. He tries to save boxing and he can’t do it if his cards have fighters who run away all night.
Hearn has several runners that he must remain steadfast, Shakur Stevenson and Richardson Hitchins; That is why he is cautious about what he says and does not quite agree with Turk’s desire to entertain the fighters. He can’t just lose Hitchins and Shakur, but they don’t meet the requirements to be electrifying for fans.
Defense of “Sweet Science” Hearna
“So people do not want to watch, or a very tiny minority of the audience. And they are very well-educated boxing people. They don’t really want to watch the defensive defensive class of a guy winning every round, and he doesn’t really respect himself, showing aggression, trying to end the fight at any time,” Hearn said.
Fans who like to watch movement and the style of impact, prefer these warriors to mix it more. However, they also appreciate this approach. Unfortunately, there are not enough of them to justify having them on the main cards.
Fans will tolerate runners if they are buried in pre -sight pre -sight, outside the mind, but not on the main cards. When fans buy PPV events, they don’t want to watch the runner. Most fans are not muddy. So, when they pay for a boxing card, they spend money that they could employ for other things, such as needs. Hearn has no contact with this type of person.
“It’s very tough. If you have an smart conversation with a warrior. If they know that they can win every round box, I can’t really go, I really can’t go to the warrior and go:” Look, buddy. I know you are a great boxer and I can win every round, but I really need to change your style, stand and trade, “said Hearn.
As a promoter, Hearna’s task is to tell their warriors that they have to change their style if they are uninteresting because they cannot sell. What’s more, it looks bad when fans boom or sit quietly without reacting to running. We all saw Shakur Stevenson’s fights with electrician Josh Padley and Edwin de los Santos. These are uninteresting fights. Hearn must have an “smart conversation” with his warriors if they are not entertaining.
Turk’s vision: End Runners
“They will look at me as if I was furious. But in reality, if you are not entertaining, you will become tough sales. And if you become tough sales, you can start a shortage of possibilities, especially in vast fights,” said Hearn. “And his Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] In a sense, put your flag on the sand there and said: “If you don’t have fun, I don’t want you on my programs.”
Hearn must tell his fighters, Shakur Stevenson and Richardson Hitchins. If they want to be included in the Turki cards, they must mix it. He should not take care of whether they look at him, as if he were crazy when he tells them to stop running, standing in his pocket and fought. If they want to get vast bags that Turks pay, they will listen to Hearn and agree.
Hearn should not feel guilty, telling them what they have to do. If they don’t like it, it’s on them. I don’t see Shakur deciding to change his style to become more aggressive. It can’t and not.
Hearna fighters must adapt
Stevenson knows that he is too feeble and penniless offensive to defeat William Zepeda and almost every good lightweight. There is no other choice but to escape. Shakur also has a gigantic ego and will feel that Turki will still want to employ it, even if he threw Louis Armstrong stadium at Queens next month. If Turki decides to exclude him, Hearn will get stuck with him. Shakur will not be joyful fighting to change Chump on smaller programs.
“But everyone is different. You also reach the stage in your career. Floyd [Mayweather Jr] He was a good example. And probably Canelo is now, where if I can have an effortless night and earn a huge amount of money, it is called Great Business, “said Hearn.
Turki is still ready to pay Canelo for his cards, but if he continues to work as he did against William Scull, there would be no shock if he was excluded because he is no longer entertaining. Canelo’s last three fights were uninteresting because he lacked gas after the first quarter of the battle. He didn’t try to play safely. Fortunately, Mayweather is still not fighting because his fights have become incredibly uninteresting when he reached 30 years. He made a minimum to win and pass at the speed of his hand, movement and careful equipping. Ultimately, Floyd chose Cherry all the time and none of his fights was entertaining.
“This does not mean that if I am called to go to the trenches, I am not prepared to go there. Canelo is a great example,” said Hearn. “If he were called, he would go to the trenches against Crawford, he will do it. But I tell you what. He would rather get without a trace on his face and say:” Thank you very much. “
Canelo is elderly and has shown in the last few fights that he can mix it only for three rounds before fatigue. The point is not that he deliberately plays it safely. There is no fuel tank to be challenging to fight for more than three rounds. He doesn’t try to be uninteresting like Richardson Hitchins, Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson. He can’t fight challenging because of his age and cardio problems.
“And there is nothing bad about it. It’s an smart business, but it’s good that it is a mixture. After all, Floyd, at his own discretion, robbed the bank every time he fought. He entered there and won each round, he was not hit. Thank you very much. Thank you very much that there must be a mixture. I just don’t think Richardson. [Hitchins] He is a uninteresting warrior at all, “said Hearn.
The price of uninteresting boxing
Hearn sailed away from the original point. It’s about Turks Alalshikh, saying that he doesn’t want safety fighters on his Riyada seasonal cards. Fighters who have uninteresting styles, such as Mayweather Jr., have nothing to do with this era. It is a relic from the time before the Internet. Turki pays checks for fighters and wants artists. If this means hearna warriors, Richardson Hitchins and Shakur Stevenson, they are not invited to his events, so it is. Hearn cannot sell these Turk fighters if he doesn’t want uninteresting fighters at his events.
The sale of tickets for the event on July 12 next month is supposedly feeble, and Shakur is a factor. Why should Turks want a warrior known for his uninteresting style to be on his cards if fans think he is uninteresting and can’t sell tickets? This means that Hearn wasted his money by signing Shakur and since signing it has no value. Once he fought for Hearn against Josh Padley, a tiny warrior without power, not a world -class.
“Is he a boxer champion? Of course. Is he a chance and is exchanged a beard in the air? Not really,” said Hearn.
Hitchins is also known for its uninteresting style and has been booed in recent fights. You would not expect Hearn to talk about it because he promotes Hitchins. He does not intend to criticize him, but his performances are often uninteresting. Hearn chose George Cambosos as his opponent, not pretenders who would potentially beat Hitchins or make him look bad, like Subriel Matias.
Last updated 12.06.2025
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Robert Garcia Evaluates Terence Crawfords Odds Against Prime Pacquiao
Published
18 hours agoon
August 15, 2026
Top trainer and former world champion Robert Garcia has considered the outcome of a fantasy showdown between Terence Crawford and Manny Pacquiao.
The two generational greats reportedly came close to squaring off in 2021, back when Crawford was the WBO welterweight champion and ‘Pac Man’ held the WBA title.
Their unification match never materialised, though, as Pacquiao was scheduled to face Errol Spence Jr before ‘The Truth’ pulled out with a torn retina.
Instead, the Filipino legend ended up losing his WBA title to Yordenis Ugas at a stage when, while still serviceable, he was quite clearly past his best.
Crawford, meanwhile, was hitting top form around this time, just a few fights away from producing arguably a career-best performance against Spence.
He did, of course, manage to stop his welterweight rival in nine rounds, before moving up to 168lbs and becoming a three-division undisputed champion by dethroning Canelo Alvarez last September.
Based on those two performances, coach Garcia has told ESNEWS that he would favour ‘Bud’ to defeat even a prime version of Pacquiao.
“The Crawford that beat Spence – and the Crawford that beat Canelo – would probably beat Manny.”
While Crawford’s prime almost certainly came during his run of eight stoppages at welterweight, it is harder to pinpoint when Pacquiao ultimately reached his peak.
In terms of his most destructive performance at world level, however, many will point towards his second-round finish over Ricky Hatton in 2009.
While facing the ‘Hitman’ at 140lbs, Pacquiao would cement himself as a formidable welterweight champion soon after, dethroning Miguel Cotto with a 12th-round stoppage for the WBO title.
Boxing
Zuffa Boxing Parts Ways with Former World Champion After First Loss
Published
18 hours agoon
August 15, 2026
Former world champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk has been left between a rock and a hard place afterhis promotional contract with Zuffa Boxing has been terminated.
The Ukrainian dethroned long-reigning light-heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson in 2018, scoring an 11th-round stoppage that left his opponent with a brain injury.
Gvozdyk then made a WBC title defence before losing to Artur Beterbievwho extended his ruthless surge with a 10th-round finish in their 2019 encounter.
Since that defeat, ‘The Nail’ suffered a unanimous decision loss to David Benavidez in 2024, before entering a perceived 50/50 contest against Radivoje ‘Hot Rod’ Kalajdzic in February.
With both making their Zuffa debut, the two veterans delivered a thrilling battle in which Gvozdyk scored two knockdowns and had built a sizable lead.
In round seven, though, the 39-year-old found himself on the canvas and was ultimately stopped on his feet after getting dropped a second time.
Given his overall performance, one would suspect he had done enough to justify another meaningful opportunity, yet Gvozdyk has since told vRINGe that he will no longer be fighting under the Zuffa banner.
“They terminated the contract in February after a loss. That is, every promoter has the option that if a boxer loses, they have the right to terminate the contract. That’s exactly what they did. After the fight, everyone was saying how great it was. That everything was great. I rested. I started preparing as planned – somewhere around May. And then, around April, they told me I’d received an email terminating the contract.”
This is because his contract has been terminated, while Kalajdzic’s next outing with Dana White’s promotional outfit is confirmed for September 26 against Craig Richards.
As for Gvozdyk, it is difficult to predict what will come next but, at the age of 39, one would suspect that he is close to hanging up the gloves.
Still, he could hardly have been happy to part ways with Zuffa, which also terminated its contract with Robert Meriwether following his defeat to Tony Hirsch Jr in April.
Boxing
David Price Analyzes Conor Benns Chances Against Ryan Garcia for World Championship Glory
Published
2 days agoon
August 14, 2026
Former British champion and Olympic bronze medallist David Price has assessed whether his countryman, Conor Bennpossesses the necessary hand speed to defeat Ryan Garcia.
The two welterweights will square off at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on September 12, with Garcia making a first defence of his WBC world title.
It was arguably a career-best performance that saw him dethrone Mario Barrios in February, scoring a first-round knockdown before winning a wide unanimous decision.
But despite coming off this dominant display, Garcia was far less impressive when he returned from a year-long doping ban and lost on points to Rolando Romero in May 2025.
Still, many would argue that the 28-year-old has shown signs of world-class quality, while Benn remains glaringly unproven at the top level.
The 29-year-old has also not fought at 147lbs since 2022, with his last two outings resulting in unanimous decision victories over faded versions of Chris Eubank Jr and Regis Prograis.
Against Eubank, in particular, Benn’s speed seemed a key factor in their two middleweight encounters last year, despite him suffering a points defeat the first time around.
As he approaches this welterweight contest against Garcia, though, former heavyweight contender Price has told The Smith Brothers that he sees Benn contending with an unfamiliar disadvantage.
“I think I [favour Garcia]. Conor Benn’s got great hand speed, but I think [Garcia’s] hand speed could make the difference in the fight.”
Like Garcia, Benn tested positive for a banned substance – clomifene – and was eventually removed from his cancelled 2022 encounter with Eubank.
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