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Why does the self-described best promoter in the world keep losing purse bids?
That question, in all its baldness, was lobbed to Eddie Hearn, the head of Matchroom Boxing, in light of Hearn’s recent failed attempt to win the purse bid for the super middleweight bout between his charge Demetrius Andrade and Zach Parker. Hearn, to be fair, has won his fair share of notable purse bids over the years, but his recent track record has caused some observers to wonder why the well-heeled British promoter is becoming uncharacteristically tight with his money.
Earlier this month, Hearn came up short in a well-publicized purse bid for the Tyson Fury-Dillian Whyte heavyweight title bout, losing out to Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions, whose $41 million submission was a record and more than $9 million more than Hearn’s offer of $32 million.
Fast forward a few weeks later, Hearn would lose out to Warren again, in a purse bid for Andrade-Parker. Warren turned in an offer of $1,834,050, eclipsing Hearn’s offer of $1,750,000.
Hearn, who would have staged Andrade-Parker in America, provided a candid answer to his interrogator’s question, saying he was not interested in paying over and above what he felt was the actual value of that fight.
“When you make a bid for a fight, you make a bid in relation to the commercial value of that fight,” Hearn told IFL TV. “It doesn’t matter if you lose it by $60,000 or $70,000 or you lose it by $5 million. That’s your interpretation of the value.
“Demetrius Andrade against Zach Parker really has absolutely no interest in America at all, quite frankly. And that was the value of the fight we were bidding for in America.”
Although Rhode Island’s Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs), a two-division titlist, is regarded as a superb talent and has been well remunerated under Hearn, he is not considered a commercial draw. England’s Parker (22-0, 16 KOs) is not exactly a hot commodity either, in that respect.
Hearn said he had to leave his ego at the door and stick to putting in a realistic bid.
“Also, in the UK, it’s not a particularly big fight, but I would have liked to have delivered it in America, and that’s what I felt like what the fight was worth,” Hearn said. “You got to understand business. This sport is full of fur coats and no knickers. It’s full of people who want to buy Rolls Royces but can’t afford the petrol.
“So you have to just behave in a way that isn’t ego-orientated…each individual fight has an individual value…it’s not even a big fight.”
Hearn, however, isn’t too concerned that he won’t be presiding over Andrade-Parker. The important thing, for Hearn, is for Andrade to win. Hearn said the decision for Andrade to move up to 168 and go through a purse bid is part of a larger plan to line him up to become a mandatory challenger for unified 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez. The Parker bout is classified as an interim title bout.
“We liked the route because it’s an interim title because the winner of that fight could fight someone else and then could become the mandatory for Canelo Alvarez,” Hearn said.
“Obviously if I won the bid I wouldn’t be telling you that it’s not that big a fight in America,” Hearn continued. “Let’s make one thing clear: Demetrius Andrade versus Zach Parker in America, I’m sorry, is not a big fight.
“But there is a route that could make sense going down that route, so that’s why I bid for it. At that level you can’t go to Demetrius Andrade, do you want to take ‘x’ [amount] to take the fight. Demetrius [had] what, a $1.2 million purse for fighting Zach Parker?
“I think that’s pretty good money, to be honest with you. Unfortunately, that was the value that I felt that fight had, I can’t be more honest than that.”