Eddie Hearn: Saudi Arabia won’t be interested in rugby, they will be interested in Henry Pollock
England flanker Henry Pollock and an inset of Eddie Hearn.
Eddie Hearn believes that he could ‘instantly’ get a rugby event in Saudi Arabia, but Henry Pollock, not the sport, would be the draw card.
The boxing promoter recently added the England and Northampton Saints star to his roster at Matchroom Talent Agency, his new business venture, with Pollock joining UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
“I honestly believe he can singlehandedly ignite this sport, and I am delighted to welcome him to the Matchroom family,” Hearn said in a statement announcing the addition of the 21-year-old.
Since then, the promoter has gone on his usual media romp, speaking to multiple publications on the topic of Pollock, including an appearance on The Big Jim Show with Scotland international Jim Hamilton.
One of the questions that was put to Hearn was the possibility of rugby heading to the Middle East. The promoter has notably taken boxing, snooker and darts to Saudi Arabia and says that it’s a natural development for any sport to be taken to the country.
Last year, the president of Rugby Asia, Qais Al Dhalai, confirmed that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE are preparing a joint bid to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup, pointing to the appetite to take the sport to the Middle East, while Qatar has also been linked with hosting the Nations Championship finals.
Natural development and progression
These kinds of reports have been met with fierce backlash from fans, like the 2022 FIFA World Cup received, over the treatment of foreign workers and reports of slave labour.
There are issues regarding human rights and the rights of LGBT individuals that conflict with those in the Western world, with many believing that countries in the Middle East are using sport to improve their reputations.
Hearn has fronted those accusations previously and says that he has witnessed a clear shift in Saudi Arabia since first taking boxing to the country back in 2018.
“I think it’s a natural development and progression in any sport,” he replied when Hamilton asked if rugby could be next on Saudi’s shortlist of sports.
“When we first did it in 2019 with Anthony Joshua against Ruiz, the reaction was ‘Oh, I can’t believe you’re going to Saudi.’
“At the time, WWE were there, so was the PGA Tour, F1 with Formula E, and tennis. It’s like, guys, we’re boxing. It’s literally a prize fight where two guys will fight each other for the most money. What do you think I’m going to do?
“And by the way, the change from 2019 until now, forget in terms of the sporting roster of events, just as a country in the whole has been incredible, like the vibrancy of the younger generation there and the change that we’ve seen, and maybe that change has come through sport and entertainment.
“People call it sports washing, I couldn’t agree more but they are using sport to drive the change.
“Every country has still got a lot of work to do but like what do these guys think that all the kids now that are coming out to sporting events, going to concerts, women turning up in the boxing gyms, do you think that’s just rubbish? I spend a lot of time there trust me, it’s happening but with rugby, I don’t think necessarily because rugby is not hot yet.”
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More interested in Pollock than rugby
Hearns says that Saudi Arabia will be more interested in high-profile athletes in rugby rather than the sport itself.
“I don’t think the Saudis are necessarily looking at rugby going, ‘Oh, we need to bring rugby to the kingdom.’ They’re probably looking at Henry Pollock going, ‘We need to bring Henry Pollock to the Kingdom,'” he continued.
“Maybe we can create an event around Henry Pollock.
“We took darts and snooker to Saudi Arabia, and they built the Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy. It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. An institution to develop young Saudi players within snooker run by Ronnie O’Sullivan, because guess what? He’s a superstar of the sport.
“When we went there with darts recently, it was ‘Littler, Littler, Littler. And if we go there with rugby, guess what? It’ll be ‘Pollock, Pollock, Pollock.’
“They would be more interested in doing it around Henry Pollock than they would around the sport of rugby because they’ll will understand numbers, algorithms, the young generation, and they will be looking at the numbers of Henry Pollock, and he’s the kind of guy that will get their attention.
“If we can bring rugby to Saudi Arabia and it means more money for the players, why not?”
Asked if they would be interested, Hearn replied: “With me doing it, yes. If I went to Turki Al-Sheikh [chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, a Saudi government department] and said I want to bring a big rugby event to Saudi Arabia, I think he would do it instantly.”
