'I’m hated but respected’: Eddie Hearn on boxing, brashness, and big ambitions

The promoter wants to dominate the business – and that means outdoing his competitive dad, Barry. He reflects on his privileged childhood, his beef with the boxing authorities and why he is so driven

BIG AND BRASH: Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Boxing promoter. Pic: James Chance/Getty Images

In Eddie Hearn’s huge Essex office, a huge photograph of Muhammad Ali knocking out Sonny Liston hangs above his desk. 

Towards the door is a huge bottle of Courvoisier given to him by somebody he can’t remember. The office overlooks a huge garden with its helipad and attached forest. Hearn doesn’t understand the concept of small. He is a giant of a man, mega-successful, motor-mouthed, stonkingly wealthy, with a desire to best the opposition that verges on the pathological.