Friday 8th July, Eddie Hearn announces the after weeks of prolonged negotiations the tables have turned. The proposed fights between Kell Brook versus Jessie Vargas and Chris Eubank Jr vs Gennady Golovkin are off, replaced by a left field option of Brook versus Golovkin in September at the O2. Queue derision from fans of the Eubank setup, a man who has been vociferous in his calling of Golovkin, an unbeaten fighter known more for those who avoid his challenge than those whose records he has blighted. Eubank and his father became the laughing stock of Twitter and the boxing world, now seemingly exposed as being unwilling to take a fight they were previously so keen on.
Roll on a few days and Hearn has now done a couple of IFL interviews, during both of which he has been openly critical of Chris Eubank Sr. Be clear here, this isn't Jr that is taking the bullets but his father; apparently he has been instrumental in the breakdown of talks due to his requirement to be the main protagonist in everything from ticket price setting through to undercard arrangements. Hearn has not sniped at the eccentric 'English' but stood and unloaded his cartridges in the light of day.
Hearn hasn't held back. He is known for his openness in the sport (only last week I wrote a piece about him opening the door too much) but the levels of detail he has given out about negotiations breaking down are beyond his standard. For their part, neither Eubank has commented (aside from the occasional Tweet from Jr). What is so strange is the radio silence. This is a team who were roundly criticised for their media comments post the Nick Blackwell fight. This is Eubank Sr, a man who craves the limelight so badly that he is willing to dance on stage as his son weighs in to fight. He is the centrepiece of any conversation or image. Yet despite this, silence.
So what is going on? Well, Brook will walk out in September in a weight division he is unaccustomed to (we know he is a big welterweight, but a middleweight?). Every sensible pundit and fan is predicting Golovkin carries on his terrifying knockout streak. So why would Hearn allow one of his world champions to take such an uneven fight, when it seems that a unification with Vargas was all but a pen mark away? As with all things boxing (and specifically Hearn) related, let's turn to finances....
Vargas was allegedly going to receive two million dollars, or £1.5 million. Add on Brook with his lower earnings, plus and undercard and other overheads and you're talking in the region of £3.5 million to put the show on at the Sheffield Motorpoint Arena. The capacity is 13,500 and we will assume it sells out at a generous average price of £100. £1.35 million income, plus say 150,000 PPV buys (neither fighter is a huge name to assume more) gives us £2.5 million. Other residual income, you're looking at a total of around £4 million. In other words, with reasonable numbers, this fight breaks even or makes a relatively small profit.