Eddie Hearn believes Carl Frampton “has got to be Fighter of the Year in 2016”
Matchroom boss, and public enemy #1 in the eyes of all the tens and thousands of Carl Frampton fanatics, Eddie Hearn believes ‘The Jackal’ is the 2016 Fighter of the Year.
The praise sent the two-weight World champion’s way by a promoter he has very little time for might stop Frampton in his tracks quicker than anything Leo Santa Cruz potentially lands on him in their rematch could, but in a recent interview with IFL TV Hearn was quite complimentary to Frampton – and indeed his entire team.
Katie Taylor and Ryan Burnett’s promoter, who also works closely with Luke Keeler, praised the job Cyclone Promotions and the McGuigans have done with the undefeated pound-for-pound rated star.
“I think they still have a bee in their bonnet about me, but I massively respect what they have done. When you look at it I think he has got to be Fighter of the Year in 2016. I think he is a great fighter, I think he has a great profile and Cyclone have done a really good job with him,” Hearn said.
However, the Matchroom boss, who looks set to come to Belfast in the Spring with Burnett and to Dublin with Katie Taylor later in the year, did express a belief that, had the Belfast man remained a Sky fighter, he would have a bigger bank balance right now.
Asked where Frampton would be if he was a Matchroom fighter Hearn claimed that “he would be a Sky Box Office fighter.”
“I believe [he would have had the same fights as he had now] and I tell you what, he would have earned a lot more from those fights. The biggest purse of his career is Scott Quigg. One million percent! If he was a Sky fighter the Santa Cruz fight would have been on pay per view.”
“He has done fantastically well. Barry has done a great job, Jake has done a great job, Shane McGuigan has done a great job. He has done brilliantly well, but you asked me where would he be if he was with me, he would be a box office fighter on Sky. When you’re a box office fighter on Sky you get those fights no problems.”
