Eddie Hearn denies disrespecting Terence Crawford, discusses tensions following Israil Madrimov bout
Eddie Hearn and Terence Crawford were captured sharing some playful banter prior to Crawford's WBA title clash with Israil Madrimov, which went down on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles. 'Bud' secured the win after a competitive clash with Madrimov, but Hearn and several others expressed their frustration with the scorecards.
The Matchroom Boxing chairman, who operates as Madrimov's promoter, believed that his client had done enough to retain the title and win the bout. He made his frustrations apparent during several post-fight interviews, and Crawford ended up catching wind of Hearn's comments.
The pair then began trading words online, and the two appear to have taken things up a notch. Hearn has now reflected on the back-and-forth, dismissing the notion that he disrespected 'Bud' whilst speaking to iFL TV. He said this:
"I've never once been disrespectful. I don't promote Terence Crawford, I can't speak more highly of the man. I spent the whole build-up, particularly fight week, praising him and promoting him. There was a lot of tongue-in-cheek stuff, but I thought Madrimov edged a very close fight. I also think we did an amazing job for Terence Crawford... I think me and Terence gel well."
Watch Eddie Hearn's interview below (29:55):
Eddie Hearn explains why Canelo Alvarez and Turki Alalshikh are clashing
Canelo Alvarez is regarded by many as being the face of boxing right now, but the super middleweight champion is currently in the bad books of possibly the most powerful man in the sport, Turki Alalshikh.
Alalshikh has been responsible for some of boxing's biggest fights over the past 12 months. The Saudi Arabian advisor has expressed his eagerness to schedule a clash between Alvarez and David Benavidez, who was formerly the WBC mandatory challenger for the Mexican's super middleweight title in 2023.
Alvarez, however, is currently preparing for his next fight, against Edgar Berlanga, and has refused to entertain negotiations for any future encounters, leading to a clash with Alalshikh.
Eddie Hearn recently explained the beef during an interview with iFL TV, where he said this:
"I also respect the fact that he wanted to wait until after Berlanga, so I'm sure they'll work together in the future... Turki respects Canelo, he thinks he's a great fighter. But in his mind, the way he operates is, 'Come on! Let's close it now.' Which is why I love doing business with him." [9:00-9:30 in Eddie Hearn's aforementioned interview]