Promoter Eddie Hearn suffered a blow to his stack last Saturday night due to criticism he received online from fans regarding his two Matchroom players, Jalil Hackett and Marc Castro, who were beaten on a DAZN card in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Castro & Hackett Exposed
Hearn was in a state, ranting for a full six minutes on the subject and looking like he needed to be sedated. I don’t know why. It was obvious that Castro and Hackett were destined to lose because they were NOT great talents. It’s a little surprising that both were beaten by minor leaguers on the same night. How does Hearn not know?
Welterweight Hackett (9-1, 7 KOs) lost a 10-round split decision to 31-year-old Puerto Rican fighter Jose Roman Vasquez (14-1, 6 KOs). This should have been a piece of cake for the 21-year-old Hackett, but man, Vazquez quickly found him out and escaped in the second half of the fight.
Lightweight Marco Castro (13-1, 8 KOs) defeated Agustin Ezekiel Quintana (21-2-1, 13 KOs) by split decision in 10 rounds. Castro staggered Quintana in the eighth round and looked nowhere near world class.
“People’s opinion of my mindset is a really clear difference between the losers and the winners.” If you can’t beat those guys at the level, you didn’t, or weren’t good enough that night,” Eddie Hearn told iFL TV, reacting to Matchroom fighters Mark Castro and Jalil Hackett losing last Saturday night in Puerto. Rico.
Eddie’s Rant
“People said, ‘That’s a little harsh.’ Grow up couple. Listen to me. If you want to be in this game. You have to prove you’re good enough to be on these cards and at this level,” Hearn continued. “Mark Castro had four ten-round championships. It was his fifth championship fight in ten rounds.
“Quintana who he boxed, 20-2, from Argentina, who they chose. We sent them three opponents, and they chose him. You have to beat Quintana if you are a world class fighter or anywhere near him. Quintana is not at that level.
If you’ve seen Castro and Hackett fight before, you could tell that neither was destined for world titles. You knew this was going to happen sooner or later when Hearn matches either of these guys against half-decent fighters, but they both fall short.
“Keyshawn Davis is 12-0 and getting ready to fight for a world title. Mark Castro beat him in the amateurs. Mark Castro beat Raymond Ford in the amateurs. You have to beat (lower level fighters). Quintana arrived around midnight Thursday night, Friday morning from Argentina. He ended up flying 30 hours around the world.
“Not good enough”
“Marc Castro was 8:1 to win that fight. You’ve got to stop all these idiots here, ‘Oh, you beat these guys (Castro and Hackett)’. No, they lost because they weren’t good enough. Jalil Hackett fought a guy (Jose Roman Vazquez) who is 10-1, from Puerto Rico, and very limited.
“Jalil Hackett was 8:1, 9:1 to win.” Jalil Hackett fucks the weight. You saw it. Everyone saw it at the hotel, and it’s a lack of professionalism that will cost you the win. He also broke his arm in the fight. He lost a very close decision.
Hearn needs to show some tough love by putting his fighters in sink or swim situations, and if they can’t handle it, cut them loose. He has to keep the Matchroom lean and mean with only talented fighters. If they can’t meet the standards, they have to go.
“I told him tonight, ‘Either you have to do it right professionally, or you have to move up in weight.’ This is a brutal sport. I’m not going to spoon feed you to the world championship level. I need to find out how good you are if I’m going to put all my money in and take you all the way to the top.
“I have several DMs. ‘Oh, Eddie Hearn got perspective.’ Fuck you. If you can’t beat those guys, you’re not the fighter I thought you were, and if you lose tonight, it’s not the end of you. You have to rebuild and come back better if you don’t want to watch competitive fights. If you don’t want to see prospects get tested just a little bit when they are 8 to 1 then fuck off and don’t watch my shows because I will give you real fights and I will give you entertainment.
“Guess what?” Sometimes, when people are not good enough and don’t work, they will lose. Not every prospect is going to become a world champion, but if you spoon-feed them and never put them in anything competitive, that’s like a *** product. Second, it will be a scam for the fans, and third, you are not doing the right thing for the fighter.
“When they get to the top, they won’t be good enough.” Eddie Hearn revealed tonight that they are not good enough. Do you want me to stay with you? Marc Castro, you weren’t good enough tonight. If you perform like that, you will not be a world champion or at that level.
“Jahlil Hackett, if you don’t make pounds professionally, you’re not going to be on the kind of guys you should be walking through.” The facts. Grow the crowd and stop being off topic and be honest with people. Sports, they will beat you if you are not good enough.
“You don’t just make games that are s***s that you can’t lose.” That’s s*** for sports. That’s s*** for a prospect,” Hearn said.
This won’t be the last time Hackett is beaten if Hearn is going to match him against fighters with little talent. He’s not good enough. Even when Hackett was fighting subpar food, he was shooting a lot, and I was like, ‘This guy’s headed for a loss when Hearn kicks him out of his protection program.’ Of course it did, and Eddie went crazy for it.
