Eddie Hearn could be out of boxing as soon as five years from now, according to his father Barry Hearn.
No stranger to the stresses and pitfalls of promoting major boxing events, Eddie's dad Barry only retired in his own right last year at the age of 72, although he had long since handed over the day-to-day operations of the business. But the younger Hearn has always insisted that he won't be around the boxing game when he reaches old age.
And his father now believes that the pressures of being one of the world's biggest promoters could prove too much for the 42-year-old, who is in charge of the careers of star fighters like Canelo Alvarez, Anthony Joshua and Katie Taylor. The younger Hearn travels more than his father ever did, and oversees a broadcast deal with DAZN that includes bouts in every major territory worldwide.
"He’s a proper Hearn," Barry said during an appearance on the Gary Newbon Sports Show . "He doesn’t leave a tenner on the table. He doesn’t go home until the job is done. Our work ethic – it’s known in the industry that no-one works harder than we do. We’re not necessarily geniuses, we just put in a hell of a lot more hours. And Eddie has paid his dues and come out as a global promoter.
"I don’t think there has ever been a boxing promoter like Eddie, because he is literally everywhere. One minute he’s in Mexico for Matchroom Mexico, then he’s in Italy and Spain, and now we’re talking about shows in Japan and we’re off to Australia. He is the UFC man, if you like, of today’s world.
"Eddie loves it, but I don’t think he’ll last as long as I did or you did [Newbon] in boxing. I think five, six, seven more years and maybe he’ll burn out because it’s a cauldron of pressure on him all the time."
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Hearn has always vowed to be out of boxing long before he's 90-years-old like Bob Arum is today, or even 70 like his British rival Frank Warren. During a media scrum in February, he declared that he would be done with the sport by 60, which would give him another 18 years.
"If by the time I'm 60, not 90, 60, still standing here with you f***ers doing f***ing interviews, moaning, going 'he said that and he said that', shoot me," he said. "You can only respect Bob Arum, he's 90-years-old. But there has to come a point, look he must love it and I respect that as well, but the aggravation in this business is 24/7, alright? So when I get to 50, which is eight years time, maybe before, I'm f***ing off.
"You'll never see me again. I'm going to go and sit on a beach and retire, not from business, but why? This sport is so addictive to be a part of, but the aggravation 24/7 with phone calls in the night, time away from your family, bad moods, people trying to f*** you all the time, people saying stuff, but we love to win. I'm 50 and out!"
