Whyte vs Povetkin and Harper vs Jonas among potential fights
Saturday 16 May 2020 11:52, UK
Eddie Hearn is planning to bring back boxing in July by staging a series of shows at his Matchroom headquarters in Essex.
Hearn is eager to get a head-start when the sporting lockdown is eased, with the British Boxing Board of Control indicating bouts can return in two months' time subject to a series of strict regulations.
The series will be called Matchroom Fight Camp, with plans for four consecutive weekends of action in July and August.
One of the fights Hearn is hoping to stage is Dillian Whyte's heavyweight clash with Alexander Povetkin, as well as a women's world title fight between Terri Harper and Natasha Jonas.
Hearn told the Daily Mail: "It is a huge mission. We are going to turn our headquarters here into an outdoor venue for live boxing, with a full canopy in the middle of the garden and the ring overlooking London.
"We are building changing rooms for the fighters, setting up a space for a ring walk, and figuring out how we can do everything you need for this kind of production with as few people as possible."
Hearn's plan, which he says is at an advanced stage, would include placing the fighters and all fight night personnel in a local hotel for five days prior to the contest.
They would be subject to coronavirus testing and social distancing would be enforced at all times, meaning the cards would have to be staged without fans or media.
Another issue for Hearn to overcome is his evident desire to stage championship contests, despite the board insisting earlier this month that the sport will return with non-title contests.
Hearn added: "We are in discussions with the board at the moment. All of this has been done in dialogue with them.
"Obviously we want to start with a world title contest. We would need the WBC, say, to be comfortable with Board of Control officials, some of whom are WBC officials anyway. The challenge with all of this is keeping the numbers down."
