Eddie Hearn was left in awe following the main event of the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2 card, but there was one fight that left a bad taste in the promoter’s mouth.
Eddie Hearn was seen enjoying what has been branded the biggest card in boxing as he sat ringside for all of the action.
Hearn was seen giving Callum Smith and Joshua Buatsi a standing ovation after their slugfest, which resulted in a points win for the Liverpudlian.
He was also ecstatic when, in the main event, Dmitry Bivol evened the score against Artur Beterbiev, setting up a potential trilogy and taking home all the light-heavyweight belts.
But one fight left Hearn wondering what was going through the fighter’s and their team’s heads.
Eddie Hearn blasts Martin Bakole’s team for putting him in against Joseph Parker
In the co-main event, Joseph Parker faced Martin Bakole after his original opponent, Daniel Dubois, was forced to withdraw due to illness.
Bakole took the fight on less than 48 hours notice, with no training camp, at a weight of 315 pounds. This weight makes Bakole one of the heaviest heavyweights alongside Butterbean and Valuev.
He landed in Saudi Arabia in the early hours of the morning of the fight, and, as some may have expected, was beaten by Parker by a brutal stoppage in the second round.
Hearn has criticized the decision of Bakole and his team in an interview with The Stomping Ground:
“[Bakole] has got an IBF final eliminator to become the mandatory to Daniel Dubois against Efe Ajagba at Times Square for a big purse.
Obviously he got more money than that tonight but he did it on 24 hours notice. He took two flights, indirect, across Africa and landed this morning, here.”
He goes on: “I think sometimes you need to just take a step back and go ‘what on Earth are you doing?’ […] You’re not fit, you’re probably jet-lagged, you probably don’t know what day of the week it is. He’s got Daniel Dubois’ gloves on.”
Hearn concludes: “I think it was a bad decision, I really do.
And respect to the bravery but sometimes you need to be smarter than that. […] You’ve lost your opportunity to be mandatory and now you might have slipped back to the end of the queue.”
Martin Bakole’s trainer responds to Eddie Hearn and speaks on Bakole’s health
Bakole’s trainer, Billy Nelson, has hit back at Hearn’s criticisms stating:
“If Martin was in a full camp and we get a phone call again to face Joseph Parker or any other top fighters, but if we were in a camp, we’ll do it again.”
Despite the setback, Nelson remains confident in his charge:
“I still reckon Martin could’ve done the twelve-round distance at a decent pace […] Against a fully fit Martin Bakole it would’ve been much much much harder fight.”
In response to Hearn’s comments, Nelson said:
“It’s okay for a multi-millionaire telling somebody that’s not a multi-millionaire that they shouldn’t take the opportunity and life-changing money.”
On Bakole’s health, Nelson said: “He’s fine, he’s in the shopping mall. […] He’s a spend-aholic.”
Nelson also insists Bakole will still face Ajagba: “We’re still fighting May 2nd but it won’t be a final eliminator.”