Oscar De La Hoya has taken to social media to mock Eddie Hearn over Anthony Joshua’s defeat to Daniel Dubois.
AJ was KO’d by his younger British rival in sensational fashion on Saturday night at Wembley, despite being a big pre-fight favourite.
Joshua couldn’t recover after being dropped for a fourth timeGetty
The fight was attended by over 98,000 people, organisers announced, owing to Joshua’s star power.
The heavyweight has been a superstar for much of his pro career, developing into a two-time world champion after entering the pro ranks as the London 2012 Olympic gold medallist.
While the Olympics triumph gave AJ a fantastic launchpad for success, many would also argue that the promotional job Hearn’s Matchroom and broadcaster Sky Sports did helped catapult him to selling out stadiums.
One person who would not argue this point though, is De La Hoya.
Hearn’s rival promoter has regularly aimed barbs at him from afar, and took the opportunity to do so again on Thursday as he reflected on Saturday’s fight.
“I like AJ,” De La Hoya said on Instagram, “However this was another huge L for Eddie Hearn.
“He is 0-11 to Frank Warren this year.
“This continues the Matchroom curse.
“If you sign with Matchroom, you’re either guaranteed to lose, or get injured.
“To make matters worse, Eddie Hearn faced off with his old buddy Devin Haney in the crowd at Wembley.
Hearn stayed by his man’s side after the defeatMark Robinson/Matchroom
Hearn and De La Hoya work together on fights occasionally, but don’t really get alongGetty
“Eddie – you can’t build a fighter to save your life.
“Anthony Joshua had the world at his fingertips and you found a way to fumble his career.”
AJ looks likely to get another shot at Dubois in the near future.
On Wednesday, Hearn told talkSPORT Saudi boxing chief HE Turki Alalshikh is hoping to see the rematch.
“Rematch clauses come in many different forms,” Hearn told talkSPORT’s Spencer Oliver.
“We have a fight with Riyadh Season. One of our options is to fight Daniel Dubois again, and our contract is with them.
“His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] will deal with Frank and Daniel and make that fight happen. The terms will have to be agreed with them.
“We have already agreed our terms, we have the option to rematch with Dubois.
“Our meetings with His Excellency, he wants the rematch. AJ will always want the rematch.
“Daniel wants the rematch too it’s the biggest fight for him and they will fancy it.
“It is a case of going away and talking about, do we go straight into the rematch? And when will it be?”
