Matchroom Boxing founder and president, Barry Hearn, has revealed that he could have signed boxing sensation Tyson Fury years before his son Eddie reportedly had the chance to do the same— and when he wasn’t yet a professional, no less.
While Eddie Hearn recently explained how he had the chance to sign Tyson Fury during his appearance on Gary Neville’s ‘Stick to Football’ series on The Overlap YouTube channel, it turns out his dad and Matchroom godfather Barry also could have signed the Manc boxing star in his very early days.
Although Eddie detailed how he and his team ultimately passed up on the opportunity back in 2017 due to concerns over ‘The Gyspy King’s weight, according to Hearn Sr., the sporting promotion company might have lucked in on his incredible career years prior were it not for some big demands.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Lucky Block Casino, the 75-year-old insisted that not only did both he and his son “get it wrong”, but that Matchroom Sport could have secured Fury’s signature for what would now be seen as an absolute steal in the world of professional boxing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8Lxq5Earw8
As the OBE and former Professional Darts Corporation chair recalls, long before the subsequent meeting in Monaco roughly seven years ago, he first came across the Wythenshawe-born heavyweight at a fight in Newcastle, at which point his first impression was: “Big lad, great name”.
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Hearn goes on to joke that he “could see money going around” in his head once his father John Fury said he was going pro and wanted to sign with him, but confessed that the terms were simply too rich for his blood when they demanded a £100,000 signing-on fee”.
Reiterating that such a number would have been a lot of money for someone who was still an unproven talent, especially back in those days, he held his hands up and admitted, “I made the first mistake” — little did he know his son and successor would go on to make the same one years later.
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Defending their latter position that they simply didn’t believe the current WBC champion was capable of recovering his career in 2017, when Fury famously suffered from bouts of depression and weight gain, Hearn simply added: “You can have to take your hat off to Tyson Fury, he turned his life around”.
Barry went on to discuss the likes of Anthony Joshua too and his own hopes of regaining that boxing supremacy that he was on course for, insisting that he wants him to secure the big fights against the likes of Wilder, Fury and more.
As for the 35-year-old fighter himself, Fury looks to have finally booked his long-talked-about and heavily drawn-out match against Oleksandr Usyk.
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Is it actually going to happen this time?
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk latest official ‘Ring of Fire’ fight poster ahead of Feb 17th… pic.twitter.com/hCiG2IB7lj
Featured Images — Lucky Block Casino/paul62_2017 (via Flickr)
Sport
Salford RLFC finally confirm new head and assistant coaches
Danny Jones
Salford RLFC have finally announced their new head and assistant coach picks as the new rugby league season fast approaches.
The Salfordian phoenix club had already confirmed they’d reached provisional pre-contract agreements with a new boss and several players following the news of the consortium bid that kept the sporting institution alive, but now they officially have a new leadership team to get behind.
Following Salford Red Devils’ resurrection by the aforementioned investment group – though it still remains unclear whether this will eventually include a full rebranding – familiar face Mike Grady and his assistant Dave Hewitt are now in place.
They replace ex-boss Paul Rowley, now at St Helens, and his assistant, Kurt Haggerty, who both left in October and September of last year, respectively.
Sharing the news in an official statement on their new Instagram account amid a major overhaul of their online presence, the local side wrote: “We are proud to announce Mike as the new Head Coach of Salford RLFC, joined by Dave Hewitt as Assistant Coach.
“Mike brings over 12 years of coaching experience across club and international rugby, most recently leading the Salford Women’s team and previously coaching at Widnes.
“His appointment marks another big step forward in our rebuild, combining experience, passion and a deep understanding of what Salford rugby league stands for: hard work, resilience and exciting rugby.
“Joining him, Dave Hewitt, former St Helens and England Academy player, will focus on developing our attacking play and nurturing new talent.”
Hewitt also played for Oldham RLFC across three spells, as well as Rochdale Hornets.
As for the board, they sign off by adding: “Together, Mike and Dave represent the energy and belief driving this new era for Salford RLFC.”
With several ‘key announcements’ soon to be made, we can expect a better idea of what the new and hopefully improved Salford will look like in time for their opener against the Roughyeds in the Championship on Friday, 16 January.
It is worth noting that the club have yet to reveal any actual squad signings.
As for co-owner Caton-Brown, who knows all about the club and the community from his several years playing in the area, we have the pleasure of chatting with him first-hand about the vision for their future.
As a result, Pep Guardiola and co. have decided to cut the 20-year-old’s loan spell at Championship outfit Watford FC short to bolster their ranks along the backline.
The Italian journalist gave the reports the ‘Here We Go!’ seal of approval on Monday, 5 January, following confirmation of Gvardiol‘s ankle problem.
“Man City act fast as Josko Gvardiol will now be out for several weeks with injury”, he writes, “and so Max Alleyne returns.”
Himself a bit of a utility player, having also been deployed in defensive midfield on occasion, the Bristol-born youth academy product could prove a useful option in various positions across the pitch.
While Guardiola admitted that the versatile Croatian star’s issue “doesn’t look good” – this being the same ankle he had surgery on back in November 2025 – it remains to be seen how serious his Portuguese teammate’s muscle concern is.
Romano continues: “Alleyne has been doing great at Watford on loan… City informed the London club this morning, even if they’re very happy [with] how they managed Max over recent months. Club-to-club good relationship, City wanted Alleyne in their squad ASAP, and Watford let Max leave today.”
The England prospect has represented his country in every age group from the under-17s to Lee Carsley’s U21 side, and has certainly impressed on the national stage.
Danny Jones -
15th January 2024 
