Welcome to the first part of our 2015 Boxing Promoter Evaluation series. In this feature, we will seek to assess the major promoters in boxing today, grading them to find out which one is the best. We begin the series with Matchroom Sport.
Matchroom is at the forefront of boxing promotion in the UK and, as such, is one of the major players in the sport. Founded by Barry Hearn and now headed by his son, Eddie, they have put on some important fights, featuring some of the UK’s most important fighters.
Star Names
Currently Matchroom has a habit of signing the best pugilistic talent in the UK.
Carl Froch has been one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world in recent years but it was his signing with Matchroom that played a big part in increasing his public persona.
Kell Brook is another jewel in the Matchroom crown. They will hope to match Brook with Amir Khan in a domestic superfight, though their attempts have been thwarted thus far.
Matchroom also pushes local stars with strong fan-bases, such as Hull’s Tommy Coyle, Liverpool’s Tony Bellew and Rocky Fielding, Glasgow’s Ricky Burns, Leeds’ Josh Warrington and Manchester’s Anthony Crolla.
Grade: 4
Stable Depth
In addition to the aforementioned stars, Matchroom promotes the likes of James DeGale, Scott Quigg, Jamie McDonnell and Lee Selby, all four of which are all high-level contenders within their respective weight divisions.
Fighters like Nathan Cleverly, Paul Smith, Kevin Mitchell and Brian Rose have all had alphabet title experience and have recently fought under the Matchroom banner.
Grade: 4
Fights Made
Matchroom debuted in boxing under the Pro Box banner in 1987 with the heavyweight clash between Frank Bruno and Joe Bugner.
Over the years since they have established a relationship with Sky Sports which, as of this season, sees them put on 20 fight nights annually via the television broadcaster.
Matchroom innovated in bringing about the ‘Prizefighter’ series, a concept involving eight fighters battling it out over one night’s action for a prize. This has worked wonders for some fighters’ careers and produced some entertaining events.
The most prominent fight in Matchroom’s history is Carl Froch’s rematch with George Groves, which took place at Wembley last summer. The fight broke many records and went down in history as one of the biggest UK fights of all time.
Grade: 4
Prospect Building
Matchroom’s stable is impressive, but it must be noted that many of the fighters in their roster did not start with them.
Froch initially came to prominence under the promotional wing of Mick Hennessy, while Scott Quigg used to fight under Ricky Hatton’s banner.
Matchroom’s acquisition-based approach has attracted criticism from fans as well as other promotional organizations, as they are sometimes seen as using their wealth to sign fighters who have been established elsewhere.
As such, bringing through prospects hasn’t necessarily always been the Matchroom way, though that is changing with the likes of Anthony Joshua, Luke Campbell and Callum Smith coming through their ranks nowadays.
Grade: 2
Fighter Protection and In-house Fights
Matchroom does not have an overt tendency to over-protect its fighters. Notably, Froch’s fights with Groves, along with his tussle with Lucian Bute, were incredibly risky fights to take, especially considering Froch’s status as Matchroom’s biggest name.
One criticism is that Matchroom’s purported inability or unwillingness to co-promote has led to the current unlikeliness of Carl Frampton and Quigg meeting in a domestic super bantamweight grudge match. The fight has massive potential, but has been scuppered thus far.
Grade: -1
