Eddie Hearn has shown Deontay Wilder what he has been missing out on all these years Title Sports NetworkEddie Hearn and Deontay Wilder have not always seen eye to eye. So when the \u2018Bronze Bomber\u2019 was announced as part of Matchroom Boxing\u2019s \u20185 vs 5\u2019 to take on Frank Warren\u2019s Queensberry Promotions \u2013 eyebrows were raised. For about the last six years, the pair have engaged in a war of words, primarily due to their differing opinions as to why a fight with Anthony Joshua never materialized. Wilder claimed that it was Hearn\u2019s fault for the bout falling through, while AJ\u2019s promoter laid blame at the feet of the American heavyweight\u2019s camp. But the pair have put any bad blood to one side, with Wilder now taking on Zhilei Zhang in a fight that could well be his very last in the sport. Hearn has joked that they are now \u201cbesties\u201d, as he explained the complications of the AJ rivalry around their relationship. \u201cObviously we\u2019ve always had the rivalry through AJ, but I got told to sign a heavyweight for the division and I believe Deontay Wilder will bounce back in style,\u201d Hearn told iFL TV ahead of the 5 v 5. \u201cI have made him my captain and who knows where it goes after this, but we just need to go through Zhilei Zhang.\u201d As captain, Wilder can earn double points for his team with a win. Draws get you nothing, a win via the judges secures a point, while a knockout brings home two points. Hearn, therefore, is no doubt looking to Wilder\u2019s fabled right-hand to find the knockout blow against Zhang, something he has done in 42 of the 43 fights he has won. Hearn explained it best when he gatecrashed a recent interview with Wilder and Title Sports Network. But it was the reaction of the American to the silky-smooth words that came out of the promoter\u2019s mouth that really captured the attention. \u201cHe\u2019s the fighter on the card with the highest profile,\u201d Hearn began. \u201cHe\u2019s the most popular fighter, he\u2019s the fighter that has achieved the most in the sport. He\u2019s one of the most exciting fighters on the planet \u2013 and more importantly \u2013 he\u2019s one of the most feared fighters of all. \u201cYou know when you play the Ryder Cup? You want \u2018your guy\u2019 going last, you want Tiger Woods in the last group to win it all. \u201cWe may have to come from behind, we may need Deontay to win by knockout, but I can sit there and go: \u2018Go on my man, go and rack up those four points.\u2019 \u201cThat\u2019s why I did it. You\u2019ve got other guys, younger guys, more experienced guys \u2013 this is a guy who has been around. And he can hold his composure. \u201cZhilei Zhang said some bad things tonight so we\u2019re going to f*** him up on Saturday night.\u201d Hearn\u2019s last point there came in reference to Zhang claiming that Wilder was made Matchroom\u2019s captain in an attempt from the promoter to \u201ckiss his a***\u201d. But the reality is, albeit just a soundbite, it was yet another example of Hearn\u2019s gift of the gab. Wilder was captivated by every word that came out of his mouth, and who can blame him. This of course is nothing new to boxing, Hearn has been a master at it for years. In truth, despite Frank Warren\u2019s opinion no doubt, he is the best in the business. If one hijacked interview wasn\u2019t enough to prove to Wilder what life would be like \u2013 or perhaps more hauntingly \u2013 could have been like under Hearn, then look no further than the rousing pre-fight team talk he gave to his five fighters. One by one, Hearn went down the line and built up the drama and tension for each fighter and why this bout means so much to them. \u201cWe\u2019ve come a long way, mate\u201d he says to Craig Richards, \u201cThis is your moment, this is your stage\u2026time for you to deliver.\u201d Turning to Raymond Ford, it goes up a notch. \u201cThe best 126-pounder in the world, no doubt. You are about to see this man change his life.\u201d \u201cAmmo Williams,\u201d he continues. \u201cEverything you have been through to this point, takes you to this moment\u2026You take this guy to pieces.\u201d \u201cFilip, I\u2019ve lost count of the number of people who have told me this may be the best heavyweight in the world,\u201d his sights firmly set on Hrgovic. \u201cYour time has come.\u201d And then he gets to his captain, Wilder. You could hear a pin drop. \u201cDeontay, we haven\u2019t always got on. But I admire you, I respect you. And as they say, setbacks pave the way for comebacks. \u201cYou are one dangerous, dangerous man. When you destroy this man to my right, Zhilei Zhang, the whole world is going to take notice that you are back.\u201d Never mind Wilder, I was ready to fight Zhang after that rousing speech. Then two things hit me (no pun intended): 1) What a promoter to have in your corner; and 2) What a shame that this hasn\u2019t happened before. This is not to take pity on Wilder\u2019s career. His trilogy with Tyson Fury is one for the ages. It is simply a case of \u2018what could have been\u2019 if the pair had teamed up. Eddie Hearn\u2019s promotional skills selling one of the biggest punchers in the heavyweight division? Sign me up. Sadly though, the 38-year-old is inching closer to retirement. Should Wilder get the job done over Zhang, a fight with AJ would certainly be a lot easier to arrange now. However, Messrs Hrgovic, Dubois, Usyk and Fury may just tell him to get in line. It may only be for one fight, but Hearn backing Wilder has been a joy to watch, listen to and engage with. Let\u2019s hope Wilder delivers the knockout blow we know he\u2019s capable of. It could just prove to be the start of a brilliant partnership in his twilight years. For all the biggest results and upcoming fights this year, check out Dexerto\u2019s 2024 boxing schedule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Eddie Hearn has shown Deontay Wilder what he has been missing out on all these years Title Sports NetworkEddie Hearn and Deontay Wilder have not always seen eye to eye. So when the \u2018Bronze Bomber\u2019 was announced as part of Matchroom Boxing\u2019s \u20185 vs 5\u2019 to take on Frank Warren\u2019s Queensberry Promotions \u2013 eyebrows were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21493\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}