Mike Tyson Roped In as Ariel Helwani Torched for Siding With UK Promoter’s Harsh Remarks

Boxing insider Rick Glaser sent out another scathing attack on Eddie Hearn and dragged in Mike Tyson to criticize the latter’s promotion. Glaser and Hearn have been at a crossroads several times due to their opposing views on boxing promotions. For a very long time, Glaser and other experts have criticized Hearn’s matchmaking skills in the past, calling them inferior to the likes of Frank Warren and Oscar De La Hoya.

On Sunday, the Matchroom Boxing’s head honcho replied to all the critics following the fights of Marc Castro and Jalil Hackett. Both of Hearn’s fighters lost their first-ever fight with the promotion on the undercard of the Richardson Hitchins–Liam Paro event in Puerto Rico. However, rather than standing beside his fighters, Hearn criticized both Castro and Hackett, which led to Rick Glaser launching an attack on the promoter.

Even Mike Tyson needed help says Rick Glaser

In a conversation with IFL TV, Hearn had declared, “If you can’t beat those guys, you’re not the fighter I thought you are,” criticizing his fighters. The promoter was in furious mood and was in no mood to sugarcoat his words. However, he further accepted that even “If you lose tonight it’s not the end of the road for you. You’ve got to rebuild, and you’ve got to come back better.” 

However, he still clapped at critics who think he should be more careful with young prospects and match them up carefully so they win their earlier fights. “If you don’t wanna watch competitive fights, if you don’t wanna see prospects tested, a little bit.. f**k off and don’t watch my shows,” Hearn shot back passionately.

On Wednesday, Ariel Helwani reshared the clip on his show and praised the promoter for his passionate words. Helwani further claimed that he “agreed with every word by Hearn.” The clip caught the attention of Rick Glaser who replied to Helwani while also calling out Eddie Hearn’s matchmaking skills.

He wrote in an X post, “Ariel, & how many world champions have you built, none, & that’s only a few less than Hearn,” referring to the lack of champions that Matchroom Boxing currently has. According to Glaser, Eddie Hearn has not developed as many fighters as he claims to have, which “is a major part of Boxing, without that, we’d have zero stars.”

Glaser further claimed that even legends like Mike Tyson and Oscar De La Hoya were once prospects and without a great promoter and careful matchmaking, even they would have failed. “Be it Mike Tyson, Oscar, & any other star, they were all built properly,” stated Glaser.

Eddie Hearn has suffered too much this year, including the June 1 event where all five Matchroom fighters lost against Queensbury fighters. However, the British promoter is still not concerned about his strategy which he made evident during the weekend.

Eddie Hearn asks to trust the process

After the Paro-Hitchins event, Hearn claimed that he wanted to challenge his fighters even if it meant losing a fight along the way. He further declared, “I’m going to give you real fights, and I’m going to give you entertainment and guess what? Sometimes, when people underperform, or they’re not good enough, they’re going to lose.” However, what the Matchroom head fails to understand is that losing at such an initial stage of their career can really affect their confidence, which can be detrimental to their career trajectory.

However, Hearn refused to doubt his methods and asked everyone to trust the process. He claimed, “If you spoon-feed them and never put them in anything competitive, one, it’s a shit product, two, it’s a con for the fans, and three, you’re not doing the right job for the fighter, because when they get to the top they’re not going to be good enough.”

Only time will tell whether Eddie Hearn’s methods will work in the long run or not. However, Rick Glaser believes that young boxers need some extra care during the initial stages. While challenging the fighters is essential, pitting them against tough competitors too early can ruin their development.

What are your views on Eddie Hearn’s comments? Let us know your thoughts down below.