Eddie Hearn offered Big Sexy a shot at Dereck Chisora on ‘Bellew-Haye 2’ undercard
Big promoters have recently sat up and taken notice of the Irish heavyweight they call ‘Big Sexy’.
Sean Turner [12(8)-2(0)] travelled to Germany to fight Filip Hrgovic- a heavyweight being touted for big things – two weeks ago and, despite losing to the Croat on points over eight rounds, has both caught the eye of Matchroom and increased his stock with Sauerland
Having just registered a breakthrough away win againstĀ Arnold Gjergjaj in impressive fashion and significantly boosting his ranking, some Irish fight fans were upset theĀ 2013 National Elite super heavyweight champion took the short notice fight rather than target one of Matchroom’s lesser heavyweight lights.
The odds were massively against the sturdy Dubliner. Overcoming a fighter with massive amateur pedigree and a big pro future ahead of him was always going to be tough especially considering Turner hadn’t been in the gym between camps and effectively had just two intense days of training before the contest.
Indeed, it’s rumoured coach Pete Taylor wasn’t in the corner – which was manned by Stephen Kavanagh – because he disagreed with his charge taking the fight at this stage in his career.
However, while he didn’t upset the odds, Turner did manage to make an impression on two men that could help him get the kind of fights he so desperately wants.
Both Eddie Hearn and Nisse Sauerland were complimentary as to how the big man performed against the Olympic bronzeĀ medalist – and while Sauerland brother fell in love with the ‘Big Sexy’ ring moniker to the point he wants to adopt it for himself, Hearn saw value enough in Turner to offer him a shot at former World title challenger Dereck Chisora.
Directly after Turner took the German-based prospect the distance, the Matchroom boss contacted the heavyweight’s management team to inquire if they would be interested in a fight with ‘Del Boy’ on the undercard of the massive Bellew-Haye pay-per-view rematch on May 5th.
“I did shout out in the eighth round ‘go on the Big Sexy’, ” Hearn told IFL TV.Ā
“I texted the MTK boys and asked them if they wanted to put Big Sexy in with Chisora for his comeback fight at the O2.”
While Hearn and the fighter himself revealed an eye injury means Turner won’t not be ready for a May date, it remains an option down the line. It also proves the Irish heavy is now viewed as a viable opponent for some of the weight’s fringe World level fighters.
Unfortunate I picked up a small injury in my right eye in my last fight 😕 https://t.co/nPrJ98aQSv
ā King Big Sexy (@BigSexyboxer) March 3, 2018
Big Sexy not gonna be ready but maybe later in Year 👍🏼
ā Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) March 2, 2018
A clash with Chisora, who has shared the ring with David Haye, Dillian Whyte and VitaliĀ Klitschko, would boost Turner’s profile to no end and with the Zimbabwean seemingly on the wane, it would provide him with an upset opportunity and the chance to secure more lucrative and higher profile fights in future.
The Shankill slugger’s chances of upsetting Chisora or the likes of Dave Allen or other such Matchroom heavies may also be increased if he was given notice – or even if he remained in the gym between fights in anticipation of a late call.
That last ditch nature of Turner’s last fight is something Hearn believes prevented him from having any chance of an upset.
“He is improving. It’s a bit like Dave Allen they get slung into these fights. Dave Allen got slung in with Luis Ortiz at two week’s notice.”
“You’re not going to get the chance to beat these guys [that way], you’re not going to learn but at the time he [Allen] wasn’t interested in learning, he, like Big Sexy, was ‘show me the money’.”
Sauerland wasn’t diving in with any offers during the interview with James Helder, but the older of the two promoting brothers was certainly impressed with the 26-year-old’s nickname.
The fighter himself seems to be leaning toward changing it to ‘King Sexy’ and is somewhat reluctant to play up to a tag he was christened with while boxing with the LA Matadors in the World Series of Boxing.
However, with millionaire promoters calling it ‘marketing genius’, it wouldn’t seem a bad idea to walk in to Right Said Fred’s ‘I’m Too Sexy’ or even return to the ‘SexyBack’ ringwalk he used the last time he fought in Dublin back in November 2015.
“Big Sexy, best nickname [in boxing]. I want to be called Big Sexy from now on. Brilliant branding, marketing genuises – I am going to get my wife to call me ‘Big Sexy’ from now on,” laughed Sauerland.
Watch Eddie Hearn and Nisse Sauerland discuss Big Sexy below:
