Hearn’s prospects fail: promoter rages against reality

Promoter Eddie Hearn was wasted Saturday night by the criticism he received online from fans for his two Matchroom prospects, Jalil Hackett and Marc Castro, who were defeated on the DAZN card in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Castro and Hackett exposed

Hearn was in a state, ranting for a full six minutes about the topic and looking like he needed to be sedated. I don’t know why. It was obvious that Castro and Hackett were destined to lose because they were NOT great talents. It’s a little surprising that they were both defeated on the same night by second-tier fighters. How can Hearn not know?

Welterweight Hackett (9-1, 7 KOs) lost a 10-round split decision to 31-year-old Puerto Rican fighter José Román Vázquez (14-1, 6 KOs). This was supposed to have been a piece of cake for the 21-year-old Hackett, but man, Vazquez figured it out quickly and outworked him in the second half of the fight.

Lightweight Marc Castro (13-1, 8 KOs) was defeated by Agustín Ezequiel Quintana (21-2-1, 13 KOs) by split decision over 10 rounds. Castro was knocked out in the eighth round by Quintana and didn’t look anywhere near world class.

“The opinion of people who have my way of thinking is really the clear difference between a loser and a winner. If you can’t beat those top guys, you’re not, or you weren’t good enough that night,” Eddie Hearn told iFL TV, reacting to the surprise defeats of Matchroom fighters Marc Castro and Jalil Hackett last Saturday. the night in Puerto Rico. Rich.

Eddie’s rant

“People said, ‘That’s a little harsh.’ Grow a pair. Listen to me. If you want to be in this game. You have to prove that you are good enough to be on these cards and at this level,” Hearn continued. “Marc Castro has had four ten-round championships. That was his fifth ten-round championship fight.

“Quintana who boxed, 20-2, from Argentina, who they chose. We sent them three opponents and they chose that one. You have to beat Quintana if you are a world class fighter or close to being one. Quintana is not at that level.

If you’ve seen Castro and Hackett fight before, you’ll realize that neither of them were destined for world titles. You knew this would happen sooner or later once Hearn pitted either of these guys against half-decent fighters, but they’re both lacking.

“Keyshawn Davis is 12-0 and is about to fight for a world title. Marc Castro beat him in the amateurs. Marc Castro defeated Raymond Ford in the amateur category. You have to be beating (the lower level fighters). Quintana arrived around midnight Thursday morning from Argentina. He ended up flying 30 hours around the world.

“Not good enough”

“Marc Castro was 8 to 1 to win that fight. You’ve got to stop telling all these idiots, ‘Oh, you beat these guys (Castro and Hackett).’ No, they lost because they weren’t good enough. Jalil Hackett fought a guy (José Román Vázquez) who is 10-1, from Puerto Rico, and is very limited.

“Jalil Hackett was 8-1, 9-1 to win the fight. Jalil Hackett got screwed with the weight. You saw it. Everyone saw it at the hotel, and that is a lack of professionalism that will cost you victory. He also broke his hand in the fight. He lost a very close decision.

Hearn has to show some tough love by putting his wrestlers in sink or swim situations, and if they can’t handle it, letting them off the hook. You have to keep Matchroom lean and mean with talented wrestlers. If they can’t meet the standards, they have to leave.

“I told him tonight: ‘Either you have to do well professionally or you have to gain weight.’ This is a brutal sport. I won’t spoon-feed you to world championship level. I need to find out how good you are if I want to spend all my money and take you to the top.

“I received a couple of direct messages. “Oh, Eddie Hearn has a prospect.” Fuck off. If you can’t beat those guys, you’re not the fighter I thought you were, and if you lose tonight, it’s not the end of the road for you. You have to rebuild yourself and come back better if you don’t want to see competitive fights. If you don’t want to see prospects tested just a little when they’re 8 to 1, fuck off and don’t watch my shows because I’m going to give you real fights, and I’m going to give you entertainment.

“Guess what? Sometimes when people aren’t good enough and underperform, they’re going to lose. Not every prospect is going to be a world champion, but if you spoon-feed them and never you put in anything competitive, it’s a shitty product. Two, it’s going to be a rip-off for the fans and three, you’re not doing the right thing for the fighter.

“When they get to the top, they won’t be good enough. Eddie Hearn found out tonight that they are not good enough. Do you want me to be honest with you? Marc Castro, you weren’t good enough tonight. If you perform like this, you won’t be a world champion or a real player at that level.

“Jalil Hackett, if you don’t make weight professionally, you’re not going to face guys like that that you should be hanging out with. Facts. Grow a group, stop dwelling on the subject and be honest with people. In sports, you get beat if you’re not good enough.

“There are no confrontations that are shit and that cannot be lost. It’s shit for the sport. It sucks for the potential customer,” Hearn said.

This won’t be the last time Hackett is defeated if Hearn is going to pit him against fighters with a bit of talent. It’s not good enough. Even when Hackett was fighting sub-level fodder, he was taking a lot of shots and I was thinking, ‘This guy is headed for defeat once Hearn takes him out of his protection program.’ Sure enough, it happened and Eddie is going crazy about it.