Eddie Hearn Names Best Pound-For-Pound Fighter in World Right Now

Boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn, has been at the heart of the sport for over a quarter of a century, having been introduced to the business by his father, Barry.

During this time, Hearn has represented some big-name boxers and has made Matchroom Boxing receive global recognition. He is sometimes scrutinised in the boxing world, though, for his straight talking and love for winding up opposing fighters, but there is no denying the success that he has had throughout his career.

Unfortunately for him, however, his big-profile fighters have been losing recently. Anthony Joshua was subject to successive defeats against the now undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, before going on to lose to Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium just over 12 months ago.

Conor Benn was found to have been doping, which delayed his anticipated fight with Chris Eubank Jr. When the fight did eventually take place, it did not disappoint. However, Benn was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision in Tottenham. With a rematch in November, Hearn will be hopeful his fighter can get the win this time around, with their family rivalry dating back to 1990 when the pair’s fathers fought for the first time.

Following Terence Crawford’s exceptional victory against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, which saw the American jump up three weight classes, many have labelled him as the best pound-for-pound fighter. Hearn, however, had a different view when speaking to iFL TV, opting for Oleksandr Usyk as his number one in the world.

“Who has Crawford beat from the pound-for-pound list? The answer is Canelo, and maybe Errol Spence at the time, who was somewhere near the back end of the top 10 at the time, but when he fought Shawn Porter, when he fought Kell Brook, when he fought Amir Khan, when he fought Gamboa, it’s important that you get what I’m saying.

“I think he’s the most skilled fighter on the planet. It’s not his fault, he could have beaten those real elite guys in his prime, but he never got to fight them.

It’s tough to disagree with Hearn’s comments. Since making the step up from cruiserweight, people didn’t believe Usyk was big enough or carried the punch power to be a real threat at heavyweight. He’s since become the unified champion and only the first to achieve the feat in two different weight classes.

For most, there is nothing more that the Ukrainian needs to prove, but the 38-year-old is still eager to return to the ring to defend his titles, with Joseph Parker being the latest mandatory challenger. It’s clear that his passion for competing remains after winning the hearts of the entire UK.