Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn were sworn enemies for over a decade.
They constantly criticised each other through interviews, refused to work together and never even met until last year. Now the British boxing promotional giants are good friends after burying the hatchet. For the first time since Warren left Sky Sports back in 2011 to form BoxNation, the pair are back working with the same broadcaster at DAZN. We sat down with both men this week to discuss their rivalry developing into a friendship and where they see both Queensberry and Matchroom in the sport.
Frank Warren: Well, that was quite a few years ago. Was it Audley Harrison? I think that was it. I didn’t think of him, I didn’t think of that. I just thought, to be honest, I thought at the time, Audley Harrison, good luck with that one. And as he’s gone on in time, he’s done extremely well, hasn’t he? I mean, he’s done a brilliant job with AJ. I mean, a fabulous job. And turned him into a British sport icon. And you never can take that away from him, what he’s done there with him.
Eddie Hearn: I would sometimes see pictures of Frank and my dad, because I think when they came together or they had a couple of projects. They were rivals because they both wanted to be top dog, that’s all. And, you know, socially, you know, they would always get on. It wasn’t like they’d be scrapping around when they’d come face to face. The difference between me and Frank was we never even met. You know, and I think if we would have met, we might have got on and we might have worked together sooner. But the problem is in today’s age, all you’re doing is looking at interviews and clickbait and it winds you up and it makes, you know, whether you think it has an effect or not, when you’re a competitor, it makes you roll up your sleeves and go, oh yeah, right, yeah, okay, right.
EH: When I was growing up, I never looked at my dad and went, cool, I can be a boxing promoter one day. I probably wanted to be a fighter, but I was useless. So I stumbled into it, even when I left education, you know, I was a sports agent. I represented sportsmen and athletes.
I just sat down at the World Series of poke and I got drawn on the same table as Audley Harrison. I phoned my old man straight away. I said, do you know Audley Harrison? I said, I’ve just met him at a poker table. I reckon we could get him for the world heavyweight championship. He went, ‘Audley Harrison? Not on my watch, mate. Good luck’ And that was it. And that was all she wrote.
FW: All I got was some of the clickbait, especially in the early days of some of these YouTube channels. And sometimes some of the things that were said, you sort of responded to them and it was a bit of a laugh. A couple of them were like, hang on a minute, what’s that all about? And you go back on. But I never think about opposition. Today, under one roof, I like to think of us as friends. And I’ve got great respect for what he’s done and how they’ve gone about it.
EH: That you’re never going to nail him down and get the victory. He’s always going to be there. When you think you might have him, he’s back. And boom, a big announcement comes. A lot of my education in business came within our rivalry. I think that a lot of my resilience and ability to handle pressure and deal with aggravation and problems, just in boxing. A lot of that came from the battle between me and Frank. Now when you have a bite to eat or a glass of wine, you think ‘Actually we’re pretty similar, really, aren’t we?’
EH: Fury AJ is beyond the 5v5, is beyond Matchroom-Queensberry. It’s just the greatest fight in the history of British boxing. And there’s only one man who can help us with that, I’m afraid. One day I believe and hope that he’ll call Frank and say, Frank, you know what? I’ve picked up enough dog s***. Let me fight again.
FW: I’m not going to pick up the phone to him and try and convince him to do something. It would be wrong for me to do that to him and to his family. If he does, and it’s a massive if, it’s got to be of his own accord. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. Two-time world champion, been involved in some of the most iconic fights of the 21st century. Probably one of the two best heavyweights out there in the 21st century. God bless him. And that’s how I feel about it.
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