QUEBEC | Saudi Arabia is occupying more and more space in the world of boxing. Should we be worried about this growth?
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Not if we ask this question to British promoter Eddie Hearn, who sees new horizons to explore.
“There are many questions about whether the situation will deprive Britain and the United States of boxing. “We live in a world called world and boxing does not have to be limited to the United Kingdom and the United States,” he stressed.
“It is a global sport that we should never give up on developing. You have to be patient so they can develop the culture.”
Eddie Hearn Stevens LeBlanc/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
growth
The businessman believes that the Saudi boom of the last few months is good for boxing. The country on the Arabian Peninsula presented two major galas in recent months.
“It's great to have 10,000 people here or even 90,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium [de Londres]But it’s also good to open up new markets.”
“The fact is that we had a lot of significant fighting in Saudi Arabia within five months.”
Eye of the Tiger Management protégé Arslanbek Makhmudov fought there twice, during the galas on October 28th and December 23rd.
Preserve markets
“Any place where there is money and a strong desire to present major events will be interesting. We just need to make sure our key and local markets also have major events,” believes Hearn.
The problem is that money plays a big role in this environment and the pugilists also want their share of the pie. Hearn couldn't be clearer on this topic.
“We also have to talk to the pugilists. We need to tell them they can have this amount to fight in the UK or triple this amount to fight in Saudi Arabia.”
He also praises Saudi Arabia's ease in organizing fighting. It must be said that the government is funding the operation through a sports development agency.
“A fight that would involve Beterbiev and [Dmitry] Bivol could be organized there quickly, there would be no months of negotiations with too many units to organize it.”