EDDIE HEARN has responded to the statement rival promoter Frank Warren released last week with regards to a potential fight between lightweight world champions Terry Flanagan and Anthony Crolla.
Warren, who promotes WBO boss Flanagan, claimed a meeting between the two Mancunians could be aired on Sky Sports Box Office, as long as it was made on a 50:50 basis.
Hearn, who handles WBA titlist Crolla, does not feel the fight warrants such a split, and also revealed there are no available pay-per-view dates this year.
“It was quite clever. The first thing he said is he’s willing for it to be on Sky pay-per-view, so firstly, I thank him for the offer of letting me make one of his fighters a lot of money,” he told Boxing News.
“It’s not a pay-per-view fight yet, because of the schedule we’ve got – [Kell] Brook [on August 27] and [Anthony] Joshua again, which Frank knows.
“I don’t believe it’s a 50:50 fight in terms of who brings what to the table, but that’s kind of irrelevant, we’re not even at that stage.”
Warren had previously made Crolla an offer of £500,000 to fight Flanagan, though Anthony elected to fulfil his mandatory obligation against Ismael Barroso on May 7 instead, for which he was still handsomely rewarded.
Flanagan, who regularly appears on Warren’s channel BoxNation, last defended his title against Derry Mathews in March. Hearn feels Terry, who – alongside Crolla – is one of the world’s best at 135lbs, is eager for higher purses, given his standing in the division.
“Frank’s in a really difficult position with Flanagan because Crolla’s earning three or four times as much money as him now and Flanagan knows that and Flanagan wants the big fights for big money, and Frank’s really under pressure,” he continued.
“As I said to Steve Wood [Flanagan’s manager] who I’ve been negotiating with, ‘make us your biggest offer, we’ll do the same, and we’ll see what makes sense.’
“If you look at what the champions are earning, Flanagan’s on a quarter of that – and they know that. But it’s difficult because Flanagan’s not creating the revenue.”
Warren’s side would likely dispute that, though it seems clear Crolla’s profile is higher than Flanagan’s at this stage, partly due to the career-threatening injuries he suffered in 2014 while trying to stop a burglary.
Crolla – who himself has stated he would fight anyone, including Flanagan – is particularly keen on fighting division leader Jorge Linares. If negotiations for a fight with Terry drag on, Hearn says he will pursue other options.
He said: “Linares is definitely an option. We like the Flanagan fight, but if we’re going to be held up and it’s going to be messy, we’ll look to the Linares fight.”
