By Sean Crose
Adding the title of Matchroom, Eddie Hearn to the large number of celebrities in the fighting game who are openly praising the fact that the undisputed welterweight title fight Errol Spence-Terence Crawford has been waiting for ever since. finally became a reality. Hearn said to DAZN on Spence-Crawford’s pay-per-view, “500,000 – 600,000.” Those are big numbers, to be sure. Furthermore, Hearn may actually be underestimating the actual number. While the claim that the war has a chance of making a million buys may be driving things up, a million buys isn’t entirely out of the question.
Because this match has the ability to attract casual fans, like the Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia super fight in April did. That match brought in more than a million buys. While it’s true that both Davis and Garcia are young and have huge fan bases, both Spence and Crawford have dominated their opponents, as well as in their respective weight classes, for a while. This war has been going on for a long time, almost too long. Fortunately for Spence and Crawford, the excitement seems to still be there after years of seemingly hopeless fans waiting. “It was a great fight,” Hearn said, “and I’m sure it will get the respect it deserves.”
Hearn himself knows what it means to participate in a big event. He has helped promote big names like Anthony Joshua and Canelo Alvarez. He may currently be engaged in a war of words with rival promoter Bob Arum, but the British tennis player has certainly risen to the top – or at least close to the top – of boxing’s promotional mountain nowadays. Suffice it to say, Hearn was unlikely to use his own main card when Spence and Crawford faced off on July 29.
Indeed, there’s good reason the Spence-Crawford bombing has generated a huge amount of hype. The winner is not only the undisputed welterweight champion of the world, each man is also considered one of the best boxers on the planet. On top of that, neither Spence nor Crawford had once tasted failure. The only thing not to like about the war, really, is that it hasn’t happened yet. However, Hearns, as well as anyone, understands that it is hard to come together to fight this nature. Perhaps that is why he is so willing to express his admiration for a match that is almost never made.
