"I said Callum Smith was going to beat Beterbiev" - Eddie Hearn blown away by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh's boxing knowledge

Eddie Hearn praised Turki Alalshikh and his sweet science know-how heading into yet another mega event in Saudia Arabia.

At the press conference for Francis Ngannou vs Anthony Joshua, promoter Eddie Hearn took time to touch on the recent Callum Smith vs. Artur Beterbiev light heavyweight title fight in the context of the man some call "His Excellency's" boxing knowledge.

Hearn said:

"We talk about his excellency a lot but you're talking about someone who has an incredible passion for the sport of boxing. Someone that's unbelievably knowledgable. I mean, you know, I thought that Ngannou against Fury was gonna be a mismatch, he told me off."

"He said I think you're gonna be wrong. I said Callum Smith was gonna beat Beterbiev, he told me I was wrong. It shows that he knows his boxing."

Check out the full presser featuring the above Eddie Hearn excerpt below:

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Eddie Hearn and his future in Saudi Arabia

The Matchroom Boxing figurehead seems to see a great financial future in staged events in the Middle East going forward.

The 44-year-old has been involved in several massive events over the years. Still, it seems especially enthusiastic about the lucrative nature of what the future seems to hold with this new partnership of sorts.

Eddie Hearn has aided in arranging yet another blockbuster bout for a generational heavyweight star, Anthony Joshua. It comes at a time when AJ is streaking and has a lot of renewed enthusiasm from fans about his career. This while Francis Ngannou steps into this but on the heels of arguably being robbed of a decision victory over the lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in his last outing.

The United Kingdom native thinks very highly of his fellow countryman, and he sees his combative compatriot as someone who will eventually cement himself as an undisputed heavyweight champion before Joshua's time in the ring wraps up.

While normally in the promoter role, Hearn may step into the ring sooner than later if Turli Alalshikh has his way. The suggestion for an opponent also elicited a reaction from the onsite assembled media but also the broader sweet science community on social media as well.