Eddie Hearn suggests two possible opponents for Eric Donovan’s Matchroom return
So impressed with Eric Donovan was Eddie Hearn that he wants to give the Irish featherweight another big show chance.
The Matchroom boss didn’t try to hide his admiration for the Kildare fighter in the build up to Donovan’s IBF ranking title fight on Friday – and after 35-year-old flirted with defeating his new signing Zelfa Barrett he made it immediately clear he would welcome him back on a Matchroom show.
Speaking after Fight Camp #3 concluded he doubled down on his Donovan praise and was already plotting future plans for the five time National Senior Champion.
It’s not that Hearn has signed the Mark Dunlop trained Athy favourite, but the promoter has been impressed by both Donovan the man and Donovan the fighter – and he believes he will bring value to future shows.
The promoter would like to see the European and EU bronze medalist fight at his natural weight and linked him to fellow feathers Jordan Gill and Reece Bellotti.
“What an individual. And for me, when I meet people like that, I want to give them more opportunities. He’s come up from featherweight to super-featherweight. Let’s put him in with Jordan Gill, let’s put him in with Reece Bellotti; let’s put him in with these kinds of people. Because he can fight. I know he’s getting on,”
Speaking on a more personal note Hearn, who was happy to see new signing Barrett come from behind to stop the southpaw, admitted it was hard to visit Donovan in the dressing rooms post the reverse.
“It’s just so hard to go in there”, Hearn added, pointing towards the dressing rooms, “and see an individual who believed tonight was going to be the night to transform their career. And he was so close.”
Irish-boxing.com have been lead to believe Matchroom are exploring the idea of a winter Belfast show.
It’s been suggested James Tennyson and Tommy McCarthy will appear on an SSE Arena, Sky Sports broadcast show in European title fights.
As fighter also managed by Mark Dunlop, Donovan would be a cert for that card. If the likes of Gill or Bellotti are not Belfast keen the Kildare native could be handed a lesser test with building toward another big fight with a Matchroom name in mind.
