Frank Warren thinks a fighter exodus is happening over at Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom.
The Queensberry head has noticed that several of the fighters who were under contract with Hearn have left the promoter for Boxxer, the rival promotional company that has an exclusive output deal with Sky Sports. It is an ironic development, given that Hearn used to be the flagship promoter for Sky.
Cruiserweight titlist Lawrence Okolie, middleweight contender Liam Smith, and former heavyweight titlist Joseph Parker are some of the notable names that have recently left Matchroom for Sky.
Warren, whose Queensberry has network deals with BT and ESPN+, believes the relative lack of “exposure” is what is causing fighters to flee from Matchroom. Last year, Hearn struck a lucrative deal with DAZN, the streaming platform, bringing his relationship with Sky to an end. DAZN, an over-the-top service, is generally regarded to have a far smaller viewership than Sky, one of the UK’s biggest broadcasters.
“All I keep seeing is fighters are leaving them (Matchroom) at the moment,” Warren told SecondsOut.com. “That’s it. And there’s a reason for that. They’re not getting that exposure.”
“You go on ‘Dead-Zone’ (DAZN), you don’t get seen,” Warren cracked.
Warren’s comments mirror his promotional partner Bob Arum’s remarks in the summer. The two promoters are working to close a deal for their heavyweight charge, WBC titlist Tyson Fury, to fight WBO, WBA, IBO, IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed championship in March, probably in the Middle East.
Warren, who says his company experienced a resurgence of sorts in the past year, credited his longevity in the sport by being able to withstand downturns.
“Do you know how many young guys come on the scene and how many of them disappear over the years?” Warren said. “This business is about longevity, it’s about dealing with the bad times as well as dealing with the good times because there are bad times.”