BIG HEARNER
EDDIE HEARN would sign Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez “in an absolute heartbeat” if he was to split with Golden Boy Promotions.
Mexican superstar Canelo, 29, is promoted by boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, but the pair were embroiled in a public spat this year.
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Alvarez called his promoter “disloyal” with the duo said to have fallen out after the middleweight king drew with Gennady Golovkin in 2017.
And rival promoter Hearn, whose US fights are streamed on DAZN the same as De La Hoya, admitted he would do whatever it takes to snap up the unhappy champion should he become available.
He told Business Insider: “He’s a huge draw, does unbelievable numbers, and he’s the pound-for-pound number one at the moment.
“He’s a very good fighter. In that respect, he’d be the one to get.
“It would be [the obvious fit] because he’d have to deal with DAZN and we’ve got a deal with DAZN as well.
“I would never have conversation with a fighter who was under contract.
“But if he was to become available, would we want to work with Canelo? F***ing hell, in an absolute heartbeat.”
Hearn has twice worked with Canelo, with his fighters coming up short both times.
The Mexican beat Rocky Fielding for the WBA ‘Regular’ super-middleweight title in December 2018, and then Daniel Jacobs in May in a middleweight unification.
Canelo, a four-weight champion, is the biggest boxing star after signing an 11-fight DAZN deal worth £350million.
Only Hearn’s heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua rivals Alvarez’s superstardom.
And the British promoter called Canelo’s public fallout with De La Hoya a “f***ing horrendous” scenario to be in.
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He explained: “Whenever there’s a fighter who is showing you, in public, or showing the public dislike for you or the job you’ve done, especially when they’ve got a profile like Canelo… it’s brutal for the company.
“It’s like AJ going out on his social media and saying, ‘I didn’t do this, Matchroom have done this.’ It’s f***ing horrendous.
“So I was watching [the dispute], and I was feeling sorry, if you like, for Oscar, Golden Boy, and for Canelo because it’s just a horrific situation.”
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