It’s no secret that Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn aren’t the best of friends.
With both vying for dominance in the British boxing market, there remains fierce competition between Warren and Hearn and that doesn’t look like changing anytime soon.
Hearn hit the headlines this week after he put his long-running feud with Amir Khan to one side and signed the former light-welterweight world champion to his Matchroom stable on a three-fight deal, with the first of those bouts to take place on April 21 in Liverpool.
That represents something of a dilemma for fight fans, who will be torn between Khan’s first appearance in the ring in two years and Carl Frampton’s crucial clash with Nonito Donaire, which is scheduled for the same night.
2017: "I just don't like Eddie Hearn."
2018: "I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Matchroom." https://t.co/6pBRXsBXcN— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) January 10, 2018
Frampton’s fight will almost certainly be the more competitive, with Khan expected to be handed something of a warm-up fight in his comeback contest, but there’s no denying that Khan has the bigger name and higher profile, which was only boosted following his stint on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Warren has accused Hearn of disrespecting boxing by putting the Khan fight in direct competition with Frampton’s must-win tilt.
“It’s a stupid decision,” Warren told Boxing News. “You wouldn’t have Manchester United and Manchester City playing in separate matches at the same time on two different channels would you?
“It just shows he [Hearn] has got no respect for the sport. It’s so stupid.”
And while Warren is well aware of the fact that the viewership on BoxNation on April 21 will be hindered by the return of Khan, he refuses to move the date of Frampton’s fight.
“We announced ours first,” Warren said. “We’re not going to change the date because Khan is now fighting on the same night.
“What I will say is that we’ve got a real fight in Frampton and Donaire. Let’s face it, Khan will be fighting a stiff whereas we’ve got two live fighters.”
