In a vain attempt to put woke minds back to sleep, Matchroom Boxing?s Eddie Hearn, taking no questions yesterday at a hastily assembled press conference at which neither Andy Ruiz Jr. nor Anthony Joshua was present, sought to justify the objections to the rematch of their December 7 fight at Madison Square Garden being held in Saudi Arabia.
?There has been a lot of talk about where this fight would be held,? Hearn said. ?For us, we wanted to go somewhere that believed in the sport of boxing, who had a vision.?
The globe is chock-full of places that believe in the sport of boxing, the vision thing is another matter, and most of them don?t include public beheading, hanging, stoning, amputation and lashing as public spectacles. But then again, most countries don?t treat adultery, apostasy, homosexuality, witchcraft and sorcery as serious criminal offenses.
?We have to realize there is a world outside of Cardiff and Madison Square Garden,? continued Hearn. ?This event could change boxing forever. You could be seeing a big change in the dynamics of the sport.?
Without bothering to explain what big changes in the dynamics of the sport to which he is alluding, yet somehow forgetting to mention the elephant in the room (i.e., the lure of money), Hearn wasn?t done.
?There is time for change there,? he said, possibly referring to women being allowed to leave their homes for the first time without a male escort, ?and they are trying to make that change through sport.
?People think you can?t get into Saudi Arabia, or that women aren?t welcome to the show. Men and women are welcome. If you buy a ticket you get an automatic visa, and it?s six hours away.?
Six hours is nothing. It?s just a hop, skip, and jump from the ostensibly free world to a tyranny stuck in the past.
?We understand some criticism but we also understand the people that have been there before us?organizations that are considerably bigger than us.
?Look at the events held there before us?Formula One, the European golf tour, the Italian Super Cup, WWE. It will be an iconic moment for boxing.?
Boxing is full of iconic moments. But just as Don King, who never met a fighter he couldn?t rob, had no reluctance playing footsy with vicious dictators, it looks like Eddie Hearn is more than willing to do the same.
?When we realized Saudi Arabia was serious about boxing, we looked into the logistical side and that blew our mind as well. This will go down as one of the great fights, alongside the Rumble in the Jungle, the Thrilla in Manila.?
