Eddie Hearn, one of the biggest boxing promoters for over a decade, has shared that Carl Frampton's departure from Matchroom Boxing was the worst moment of his promotional career.
Hearn, who followed in his father Barry's footsteps and took over the Matchroom Boxing brand, has worked with massive names like Anthony Joshua, Carl Froch, and Canelo Alvarez. Despite the highs, he's also faced some lows in the sport.
In a recent chat with Ring Champs With Ak & Barak, Hearn opened up about his toughest professional moment. He said:
"A fighter leaving. Not many have, but I would say probably, and it wasn't his fault, but Carl Frampton. We built Carl Frampton. Barry McGuigan was his manager but they never wanted us to get close to Frampton."
Hearn's team had put a lot of effort into building Frampton's career. They organized a European title fight against Kiko Martinez that sold 8000 tickets, showing Frampton's star potential in Ireland. Hearn recalled:
"We did such a good job of building him. We did a European title fight with Kiko Martinez and sold 8000 tickets. We saw this kid is a star in Ireland and he can really fight. I just remember getting on a call with their team the next day and I said 'what a night.' … They said everything had to change now."
Frampton eventually left Matchroom in favor of Barry McGuigan's Cyclone Promotions. McGuigan, who was also Frampton's manager at the time, had been sharing promotional duties with Matchroom. The split happened because Hearn wanted to be Frampton's sole promoter.
After leaving Matchroom, Frampton's career soared. He became a two-weight world champion with notable wins over Leo Santa Cruz and Scott Quigg. He worked with promoters Frank Warren and Bob Arum, and even teamed up with Hearn again later on.
Interestingly, Frampton's relationship with McGuigan didn't last. They had a bitter fallout and legal battle, which ended their working relationship.
Hearn's story shows that even in the world of big-time boxing promotion, losing a promising fighter can sting for years to come.
