‘Massive Chance’ – Eddie Hearn fears Padraig McCrory may ruin Matchroom’s Edgar Berlanga plans

Eddie Hearn is beginning to worry Padraig McCrory may bring the biggest gun to this Saturday’s ‘Shootout’.

‘The Hammer’ fights Matchroom star Edgar Berlanga on a DAZN main event at the Caribe Royale in Orlando.

The New York native’s second bout with his new promoters and his second consecutive clash with Irish opposition – having outpointed Jason Quigley last time out – was initially seen as part of the procession toward a big fight with Jaime Munguia and a monster fight with Canelo.

However, Hearn is starting to get nervous and can now see the Belfast favourite upsetting those plans.

“I’m being told by everyone that knows him that he’s got a massive chance,” Hearn said of McCrory. “He’s a huge puncher, he’s got big balls, and the fight is called ‘Shootout’, and that’s exactly what it is going to be.”

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Hearn’s concerns are softened by the fact Berlanga, who started his pro career with 16 straight first-round knockout wins, can also punch – and it’s clear he takes solace in the fact the fight has the potential to be explosive regardless of the result.

“Berlanga is a pig puncher as well,” the Matchroom Chairman adds.

“These two are going to meet in the middle of the ring. I think the fight this Saturday in Orlando is going to be fantastic. A lot of people give Padraig McCrory a big chance on Saturday night, and it would be life-changing for him to win that fight.”

Bigging up his man and revealing the career path laid out the DAZN-aligned promoter adds: “We’ve done one fight together, the Quigley fight,” Hearn added. “He’s a big star. He looks the part, he sells a lot of tickets, he has a huge following in Puerto Rico and the US. He needs to shine on Saturday to be calling out Canelo, the [Jaime] Munguias and those type of people. I think he has worked hard to put in a big performance.”