"All the fighters are leaving him" -  Frank Warren fires shots at Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn

Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren have exchanged verbal insults for years. The pair, heads of Matchroom Boxing and Queensberry Promotions respectively, are the two biggest promoters in the United Kingdom.

In an interview, Frank Warren said:

“The wheels have come off that old Tesco trolley that he has got now and that’s in the canal. You know all the fighters are leaving him. It's like you go in to Tesco's now and there's not a lot of things on the shelves anymore. It’s a bit like Matchroom, they are all jumping ship.”

Watch the interview here:

In recent times, many of Eddie Hearn’s fighters have left Matchroom to join up with BOXXER and Sky Sports. Hearn and Sky were in a long-term promotional deal before Hearn decided to link up with DAZN. The latest fighter to do so is Liam Smith. Smith is a former WBO Light Middleweight Champion.

More fighters seem to be on the same path, with Lawrence Okolie having been critical of Eddie Hearn on social media. In a live interview, the WBO World Cruiserweight Champion seemed to indicate that he would not be a part of Matchroom Boxing for very much longer.

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Multiple promoters have critcized Eddie Hearn for moving to DAZN

In recent times, Leonard Ellerbe and Bob Arum have labeled the platform 'Dead-Zone'. The platform rarely releases viewing figures, which are usually available for television platforms. As such, many have insinuated that the company is trying to hide poor numbers.

Warren was also critical of the move to DAZN:

“Why don’t they [DAZN] tell you how many subscribers they have? The fighters want exposure, why do you think they are all jumping ship?"

Sky Sports provides the biggest platform for fighters in the UK due to them holding the greatest number of subscribers. Likewise, Sky has numerous television stations that run non-stop and advertise other Sky television programming such as boxing events.

DAZN on the other hand, is a streaming platform, and does not have 24/7 programming. Promotion is therefore harder for fights than if they were on TV.

Many are subscribed to Sky for other programming such as Premier League Football, Formula 1 and cricket. Sky also bundles television channels with their broadband and phone packages. In the case of DAZN in the UK, subscribers are having to pay just for specific programming.