Eddie Hearn considers Devin Haney’s next fight crucial and doesn’t believe Terence Crawford will box again

Eddie Hearn insists Devin Haney’s next step is a crucial one as the fighter bids to rebound from April’s “saga” with Ryan Garcia.

Haney is still an unbeaten fighter after the points loss against Garcia on the night was overturned to a no contest after Garcia tested positive for PEDs around the time of the contest. 

“It’s a difficult time for Devin decision-wise on what he’s going to do,” said Hearn. “I like the [Liam] Paro fight in Australia. Again, that’s a tough fight for him, travelling, and the next move for Devin is really, really important because you’re coming off that Ryan Garcia saga. 

“If he was to get beat in his next fight, that would be a disaster for him, but at the same time, he’s made a lot of money and he only wants a certain amount of money to fight, and he can only make that kind of money if it’s a tough fight. And a lot of these guys don’t want to take smaller money for the right fight.”

Haney is a promotional free agent. His proposed fight with Sandor Martin attracted only meagre bids, and Hearn – whom he has worked with most recently – did not make an offer. Haney has subsequently indicated that he is ready to return to the ring, and the Paro fight, if it happens, could take place in Australia in December. 

“This is the problem with [Terence] Crawford,” Hearn continued, talking of the sport’s present state. “I don’t think Crawford will ever fight again. Unless he gets the ‘Canelo’ Alvarez fight, I don’t think he’s motivated to fight. He’s made a load of money, and he’s not going to take short money for a tough fight – like a Vergil Ortiz fight – and I think that’s the same with Devin. It’s a bit where the money’s killed the game a little bit, because it’s just unrealistic to make certain fights. But the next move for Devin is very important.”

But with Saudi Arabian investment pouring through the sport at the highest level, does that not make such fights realistic?

“Only in Riyadh Season,” the promoter said. “And I don’t know how sustainable that is at the same time. Obviously if the business is not working… for those guys, it’s more of an investment for exposure and obviously the Riyadh Season brand, but I think it’s probably making it a bit harder for us to make those bigger fights because of the perceived market value of those fights. 

“But that’s taking into consideration what people are getting paid for fights out there, and we can’t knock it because we’re seeing [Tyson] Fury-[Oleksandr] Usyk; we’re seeing [Dmitry] Bivol-[Artur] Beterbiev; we’re seeing Crawford, we’re seeing ‘AJ’ [Anthony Joshua] back at Wembley and that’s all down to Riyadh Season. So we’re embracing that, but it is also changing the market and it’s making it difficult to make those kind of fights outside of Riyadh Season.”

The shift in the marketplace has also meant top-level fights becoming sparser in the United Kingdom, with many of the country’s headliners heading to the Middle East to get on to the Riyadh Season shows.   

Talking of the coming months in Britain, Hearn added: “We’ve been a little bit unlucky with, particularly, [Regis] Prograis-[Jack] Catterall [being postponed]. I know that’s moved to October; Dalton Smith’s out [of his fight]… When you’ve got AJ and you’ve got 90-odd thousand in September, it’s quite difficult to put and build shows around that, because that’s a huge sample-size of boxing fans that are going to be going to that event.

“I think every fighter right now is looking at trying to be a part of Riyadh Season – trying to land that big paycheck – so it is probably more difficult to land those guys headline fights in the UK, and the cost of purses has gone through the roof for a select few, but unfortunately that select few. Managers and other fighters know, ‘What he got and he got’, and it’s, ‘Well, he got that for fighting in Riyadh’, and it’s like ‘I know, but it’s a little bit different in Birmingham or Manchester’, so it’s quite a difficult time and there’s a real focus from us now.”

Hearn said he was due to meet with his Matchroom team to discuss the sport in the UK. He has Johnny Fisher headlining in London on September 28, Catterall-Prograis in October and possibly Galal Yafai and Sunny Edwards in November, with a December card in Monte Carlo, featuring two – as yet – undisclosed world-title fights. 

He said he and the team were hoping to discuss the schedule – particularly from the start of 2025 – “and trying to change things a little bit and do things a little bit differently”. 

“That could be the fights, or that could be the product – the way shows are delivered; timings of shows; the type of fights we’re pushing fighters into – because I think we’ve got to keep it fresh, and we’re never going to be able to compete with Riyadh Season in terms of the depth of the cards, so we’ve got to add something fresh to the product, and that is our aim.

“[Matchroom are looking at] everything. The types of fights; not listening or getting talked into by a manager or an agent or an advisor, ‘Oh, we want an easy one first and then…’. ‘No, it don’t work like that anymore, mate.’ We need real fights. The length of shows; the way the shows are run on the night; the fluidity of the shows; the speed of the shows; the timings of the shows; everything. I think it’s time to freshen up the product.”

Hearn said he and the hall-of-fame promoter Frank Warren are planning a second Matchroom-Queensberry promotion between their respective stables in early 2025. Warren’s Queensberry won their previous encounter 5-0, and Hearn said he hoped Anthony Joshua would claw back a victory for Team Matchroom on September 21, against Daniel Dubois. But he also recognises that the UK might be in a transitional phase from a glory period in which Joshua and Tyson Fury sold out soccer stadiums – even though he does see fighters that could still sell a significant amount of tickets.

“We had a great run, but really there haven’t been any fighters that can sell out Wembley or Spurs [Tottenham Hotspur] outside of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury,” said Hearn. “So nothing’s really changed, but yes, I do think Conor Benn against Chris Eubank Jnr sells out Spurs, no problem. Wembley, it’s a big number but I think with the right card… 

“We’re a funny old lot [in England]; we look at the Riyadh Season and the cards and I see some responses, ‘Ah, I don’t think October 12th is that great a show’. And I’m looking at it going, ‘Fuck me’.

“I’m looking at our cards and [it’s] the same quality we’ve always done and it’s like we can’t compete with Riyadh Season. It’s just like nothing we’ve ever seen before. I don’t think there’s many that can sell out [Wembley]. 

“Even back in the days of the glory years of [James] DeGale headlining, or [Kell] Brook – they can’t sell out Tottenham and Wembley Stadium – so it’s not like there aren’t big stars around anymore. Sometimes we just liken it to those two, but AJ and Fury are a phenomenon for British boxing like we’ve never really seen before.”