By Gabriel Princewill
Matchroom promoter, Eddie Hearns, is on the hot seat after swearing casually at the post fight press conference after Dillian Whyte’s triumph against Derek Chisora. Hearns who promotes Whyte and London born world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua described the fight between Chisora and Whyte as a fxxxxx cracking fight in the press conference after the fight.
The clip on youtube was filmed after the 9pm television watershed which permits swearing on air after hours children are expecting to be in bed. However, press conferences remain on youtube after fights, and are easily accessible by children. The clip spotted after a female writer was watching youtube clips of the fight and the press conference with two other members of the team on the 23rd of December- the day after the fight- asked for the tape to be played back, before raising the issue as one deserving of scrutiny over Hearn’s conduct. Hearns was no doubt on a high after his man produced the one punch shock finish to the all action packed fight between Derek Chisora and Dillian Whyte, ending a year of controversy over their first bout-this time a stunning 11th round KO.
Chisora is widely believed to have been the marginal winner of their first contest. Hearns, still in cloud 9 after the fight in which his man won, was rolling the F word at the press conference, falling prey to our eagle eyed thinktanker, who spotted a legitimate issue for discussion. Should a promoter be swearing at a press conference, albeit at a late hour at night? Hearns was no doubt psychologically secure in the idea that he was speaking at a time children are expected to be in bed, but forgetting the fact youtube videos are available and likely to be viewed, was an oversight on the promoter’s part. However, it led to the useful discussion and evaluation in relation to expected boundaries of reasonable conduct.
Against this finding was one made to discredit the assessment that all programmes or films in which swearing can be viewed by children another day. However, the prevailing point here is the higher likelihood of under aged children viewing a boxing press conference than other footage shown after the watershed hours. What’s more is that the professional setting of a press conference is not comparable to that of comedy or a film where swearing has become an embedded part of those sort of programmes.
RAMIFICATIONS
It is not a major issue , except one of discretion with potential ramifications accompanying it. Most of the history of swearing was emanated from films, but they were always meant to convey a strong and assertive feeling, contrary to the loose way it is sued in modern times. The F word wasn’t used until the year 1500 according to historical records, and was meant to connote hitting or striking someone. And whilst it is used even in social communication these days, its original meaning and context in which it is generally used must not be overlooked when appearing before a wide public comprising not just unyielding minds, but also fickle and impressionable children who must first build a solid foundation before deciding whether to indulge in the casual swearing we have become accustomed to as a society,seldom evaluating the degree and context of our indulgence.
The Eye Of media.Com delayed the publication of this article in order to thoroughly discuss the issue internally before deciding to press ahead with this article and call for greater restraint in future on the part of the flying promoter.
Hearns, the managing Director of Matchroom Sports and Director of a professional Darts Corporation has earned a fortune as a promoter, successfully guiding World Champion, Anthony Joshua to world championship glory. He recently nominated Oleksandr Usyk and Josh Warrington as his two standout boxers of 2018, and is known for his swagger and dapper dressing. He has been enjoying the high of being the promoter of Anthony Joshua- the world’s most marketable heavyweight champion in recent times- but has recently been on the receiving end of criticism from various quarters over the failure of Joshua and Wilder to materialise.
Hearns does not accept responsibility for botched talks, and has expressed interest in setting up a clash with American Wilder next April. Wilder is thinking of a rematch with Tyson Fury after their entertaining contest, forcing Hearns to look elsewhere for a fight for his man-possibly against Dillian Whyte, or American Jarrel Miller. The public may prefer to see Whyte in a rematch with Joshua, but Joshua’s team will most likely make their minds based on who they think will be a bigger sell of the two boxers.
One member of our thinktankteam said ”if you have to swear to make your point, you can’t make your point well. Eddie Hearns may be trying to look cool by swearing, but he should see himself as being cool enough to not need to swear, definitely not on air. People in his position who swear on air are trying to project a cool image that questions how much they have assessed the consequences of their actions. Swearing should not be permitted by respectable professionals in a professional setting that is public”.
Derek Chisora was also highlighted for wearing a rude pair of shorts with the words ”suck my” emblazoned right on the spot of his private parts. Our thinktank team surmised that he was using this to promote his fight, but were unified in the conclusion that behaviour like this is degrading to the sport and should be frowned upon. The issue of foul language was discussed with the British Boxing Board of Control earlier in 2018, and their top man Robert Smith vowed to kick it out of boxing. Chisora put up a valiant effort in his fight with Dillian Whyte, qualifying it as a worthy contender for fight of the year, just like their first meeting.
Image: Youtube