Eddie Hearn has mocked rival promoter Bob Arum’s idea of a 40-40-20 purse split to get a fight between WBO welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 37-0 (28) and IBF and WBA champion Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr 27-0 (21) over the line.
Top Ranks head honcho Arum has proposed both fighters get 40% of the revenue with the winner collecting the additional 20%.
But Hearn believes the fight is dead in the water if that is the only avenue to make it happen.
“That’s almost like admitting the fight is not going to happen,” the Matchroom Boxing boss said on the Ak & Barak Show.
“When has that ever happened in the sport of boxing? How many times have we heard that? ‘Ah, winner takes all.’ It’s kind of like a repeat conversation.
“I guess it can [happen], but it never will. I love Terence Crawford. And I know him better than I know Errol Spence, who I like as well. I just don’t understand the whole [thing].”
Last week Crawford said he wouldn’t accept a 50-50 purse split to make the fight with Spence.
“I don’t know, to be honest, because I’m past that,” the former undisputed junior welterweight champion said on The AK & Barak Show.
“I don’t even care about all those titles. I’ve already been undisputed. He’s [Spence] trying to do something I already accomplished in my career. Once I moved up, I get a belt in my first fight at welterweight.
“Now it’s, ‘You’re on the wrong side of the street.’ I’m not going to be playing these games where they say, ‘We’ll fight you when we want to fight you. It’s on our terms.’ It doesn’t work that way with me.”
Hearn blamed ego rather than money for the reason the fight isn’t happening.
“With Terence, even on your show, he said, ‘Even at 50-50, I wouldn’t take it’,” Hearn said.
“I’m like, ‘What?’ It goes back to, it’s all ego, isn’t it? Let me give you a situation.
“I would say, how much money is in that fight? I don’t know. Call it $30 million for that fight. So Terence isn’t happy with $15 million each.
“So it gets to the point where once you’re getting what you’re happy with and you think you’re going to win, and this is the fight that’s going to turn you into a superstar, this is going to turn you into a Hall of Famer, do you really care if the guy is getting a couple of million more that you?
“What they’ll say is, ‘How much will he get?’ ‘Great news, Errol. You’re getting $20 million.’ ‘What’s he get?’ That’s the first question.
“It all really comes down to ego. You could go to Errol Spence or Crawford, and you could go, ‘I’m going to give you $100 million for this fight.’
“And the first question, not ‘Oh my God, oh my Lord, thank you so much.’ ‘What’s he getting?’ You know, right? That’s the first question, and by the way, if he’s getting $110 million, the fights off.
“That’s what we’re talking about here, and that’s when you need a good arm around you, a good voice in your ear, a voice of reason, a voice of sense.
“Just to say, ‘Guys, if it’s the right fight and the right money, don’t lose it because what is the alternative?’.”
