The Eddie Hearn vs Oscar De La Hoya beef is an appetising sideshow for boxing right now as the sport booms, and it shows no sign of disappearing.
The two rival promoters have been sparring for years, notably since Hearn entered the US market on the back of that landmark billion-dollar contract he signed with DAZN way back in 2018.
Now the Matchroom supremo is making massive inroads into the biggest market in the sport – notably with that huge recent signing of coveted free agent Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. And putting on Riyadh Season’s first show in the US, topped by reigning P4P king Terence Crawford.
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Hearn took to Instagram to reflect on a whirlwind few days on the back of the presser to announce that Crawford vs Madrimov showdown in L.A. – and De La Hoya was quickly into the comments to respond.
Hearn vs De La Hoya, the details
The ‘Golden Boy’ barked: “Eddie for the sake of British Boxing just stay in the UK and promote, leave the real promoters to the US market where boxing matters. You had your opportunity wasting away hundreds of millions of dollars building nothing in the US.”
Hearn is nothing if not adept with his words, and his response was a thing of beauty. Probably guaranteed to wind up Oscar even more.
He retorted: “@oscardelahoya genuinely are you ok? You stalk me like a crazed fan. You had a great win on Saturday yet I consume your mind 24/7. Unfortunately for you, I am a global promoter with 18 World Champions (you have 4). I have big plans to work with everyone to grow the sport globally and have some fantastic talent in the US market. Genuinely wish you all the best and hope you can enjoy what you do 💙”
Clearly it appears Hearn teaming up with Turki Alalshikh to front a major show in Oscar’s town (De La Hoya hails from East Los Angeles) has got the 10-time world champion hot under the collar.
This all comes despite Oscar coming off one of the best wins of his promotional career last weekend. That was Ryan Garcia convincing the whole world he was melting down mentally before stunning Devin Haney in an upset for the ages.
Expect more of the same to come, this is boxing promotion remember. And ultimately – everything is promotion.