Eddie Hearn Goes In On Brian Norman Over Failed Jaron Ennis Talks: ‘Are You Cloud Chasing?’
Promoter Eddie Hearn has launched a tirade aimed at Brian Norman Jr, accusing the WBO welterweight champion of “cloud chasing” for rejecting several offers for a unification fight with IBF title holder Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Ennis (32-0-0 29 KO) and Norman (26-0-0 20 KO) have been engaged in a war of words through the media and over social media in recent weeks, offering different versions of events regarding a contract offer for a unification showdown.
Ennis first revealed that an offer had been sent to Norman’s team at the start of the week, which was rejected. Norman responded by insisting he didn’t turn it down and that the offer was accepted but ‘Boots’ backtracked and instead wanted to delay the fight until it was for undisputed.
Hearn said on Wednesday that he was still hoping to salvage talks, but on the sidelines of the media day for Diego Pacheco’s fight against Maciej Sulecki in Carson, California, the Matchroom Boxing boss went in on Norman and his father Brian Norman Sr.
“It’s frustrating because you hear everything Brian Norman Sr is saying and none of it really makes sense,” Hearn told the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel. “This is a really simple situation; the first offer made to Brian Norman was nicely over a million dollars. They said that was nowhere near. We made two more offers, a quarter of a million dollars (more) every time – levels Brian Norman will never see. We keep getting told we’re close, so we go back and make another offer, and then we’re told by his team that we’re actually not that close.
“I’m starting to think, ‘Brian Norman, do you actually want this fight or are you cloud chasing?’ Do you want to be great, Brian Norman? I’m not being funny, who is Brian Norman? I know Brian Norman is a good fighter but no one knows who Brian Norman is.
“We’re giving you a bucketload of money and the opportunity for you to unify the division against, in my opinion, one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Now you (Norman) say, Boots is overrated, you say he’s not the bogeyman, so why don’t you take this bucketload of money to prove that you’re the best welterweight in the world?
“Let’s just stop with the interviews online. We’ve gone back three times now with more money to a point where – with all due respect to Brian Norman – he shouldn’t be making this kind of money. But we’re ready and prepared to pay him, and then we get told we’re miles off. Then we see an interview with this guy saying we’re close. So, I don’t believe the bulls**t from Brian Norman and his team. If you wanted the fight, you would have taken the fight.”
Hearn then turned his ire towards the IBF after the sanctioning body ordered Ennis to fight mandatory challenger Karen Chukhadzhian, whom ‘Boots’ defeated in a shutout points win in January last year.
“Now we’re in a situation where the IBF, which is absolutely ridiculous, has ordered Chukhadzhian. Listen, the kid’s a good fighter but Boots has already beaten him. The IBF has got to stop with this, they’re ruining boxing by ordering fights people don’t want to see, especially when he’s already beaten him.
“So we may vacate the belt and do something different because Boots wants to prove to the world how great he is. We may fight Chukhadzhian and get it out of the way.
“But Brian Norman has missed the boat and now he’s got to go and fight someone for peanuts that no one’s ever heard of. Boots is alright, he’s on a fortune, but Brian Norman had the chance to prove himself as a superstar and they dropped the ball. And I hate all this stuff with the dad going on interviews – we’ve never spoken to the dad or had a conversation with him. Very frustrating.”
Hearn also revealed that an offer went out to WBA welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis, but like Norman, the Lithuanian has refused to accept the deal.
“We’ve also made offers to Stanionis, well north of a million dollars. When is Stanionis going to see money like that? Who is Stanionis? These guys, it’s laid on a plate for them,” Hearn said. “And the problem with boxing – Stanionis, Norman, [WBC champion] Mario Barrios, they know they can’t beat Boots. And the dad (Norman Sr) will come out and say ‘yeah, yeah we will’ – f***ing prove it then.
“This is what pisses me off because no one wants to be great. Norman talks about it but he’s not about it. And Stanionis, don’t even get me started. That geezer pipes up on Twitter, I’m not being funny, when I made the offer to Stanionis I almost threw up in my caviar. And now, he doesn’t want to know either. No one wants to roll the dice and try to be great. That’s what it’s about.”
