Barry Hearn entered boxing with a fight that included a shot at Mike Tyson as the winner’s prize before turning darts into juggernauts.

Frank Bruno was Britain’s most popular fighter when, in October 1987, Matchroom looked to match him with Joe Bogner at Tottenham Hotspur’s White Hart Lane.

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn was eight and his father Barry – who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2014 – was best known for his Matchroom snooker success, in part because he had only fought the late Gary Mason twice in one match up to that point. He had advertised a little. Hall in Southend

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Barry Hearn was having lunch with his wife Susan in the same town in Essex when he told her of his plans to expand more seriously into boxing and the fight he hoped to make.

And then he said to her, “What are you talking about?” “You never put up a big fight. You don’t know anything about it. You’ve done two small fights with 1,000 people in Southend – now you think you can do it?

It wasn’t until 1971 that Bogner took a controversial decision over Henry Cooper, one of Britain’s most popular fighters, in a fight for the British, Commonwealth and European titles, forever ensuring that he would be held in contempt by British fight fans. did

Hearn saw in him the potential to be the villain of Bruno’s hero. Struggle to break through to mainstream media and broadcast on terrestrial TV channel ITV.

Bruno’s availability to fight was due in part to the failure of his proposed bout with Trevor Berbick. Her career was rebuilding after she was defeated by Tim Witherspoon. Bagner was winding down, as evidenced by his past five fights in Denmark and then Australia, where he had relocated.

Before he even left the restaurant that day, Hearn moved in to protect Bogner as an opponent. I said to the lady behind the counter, can I use your phone? He thought I was calling a taxi. I called Australia.

“Heard a voice: ‘G’day? Joe, you don’t know me – my name’s Barry Hearn. I play a bit of snooker. I’d like you to come over to England and fight. Frank Bruno.

Dude, this is going to cost you a lot of money. “I’ll cut to the chase – I’ll give you £250,000.”

“He went very quietly and then he said, ‘And what plane are you going to put me on?’ I have

In an attempt to secure Bruno’s involvement, Hearn made the 25-year-old a £300,000 offer and asked him to sign the deal, risking losing Bogner if he didn’t – which he lied about. very late night

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“I wanted to do it TottenhamIt’s White Hart Lane, so I spoke to the club’s chairman, Irving Sklar, and agreed to the worst deal he’d ever signed – 10% of the gate after fees.

My next step was to speak to the BBC, but I was told, we don’t think this is a fight for the British people. So I went to LWT – London Weekend TV – and spoke to (the FA’s next boss) Greg Dyke.

“We got on like a house on fire, and he wanted to fight. ‘How much do you want?’ I quoted £200,000, I don’t think you can deliver that.”

Bogner, then 37 and a full-fledged professional in a promotional field, predicted a first-round knockout of Bruno, dismissing him as a “C-class fighter.” The combination of him and Bruno together sold 35,000 tickets, generating a £1,000,000 gate.

He had boxed Muhammad Ali Twice, and Joe Frazier once, but against the significantly more flawed Bruno, Bogner’s lack of ambition worried Hearn.

“Bruno’s dressing room was like a morgue,” the promoter recalled. “No one was talking and he was sitting with his head in his hands. I wished him success and left.

When I went into Bogner’s dressing room, I could hear the music outside – it was like a party in there. “Joe, I have to say thanks – I’m new to this game and you’ve worked your socks off selling tickets. If you win, I’ll bring you back here to fight.” Mike TysonAnd I will pay you a king’s fortune.

I will never forget his words. “Barry, you pay me good money, mate, and I thank you for that, and I’ll try my best, but if he hurts me, I’m down.”

“He’s not even trying,” I thought. “It’s a disaster.”

The experienced Bogner got the better of the athletic young fighter by two stone and made a fast start, but was increasingly worn down by Bruno’s punishing jab.

Whether it was a good fight or not didn’t seem to matter as the crowd cheered Bruno’s every move until the eighth round, when a painful volley forced the intervention of referee John Coyle to cheer louder.

“Baughner knew enough to stay alive and then he got a little clip from Bruno and it was over,” Hearn said. But 18 million people tuned in to watch ITV and everyone went home happy, which is the essence of a great show, and what I always call the “boxing bug”.

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“Chances are if I didn’t do that fight, there wouldn’t be a boxing match today. “I lost several million over the next few years as I learned about the business, but that’s where it started.”

A young Eddie Hearn was present that night and described himself as “stunned”. 16 months later, Bruno was rewarded with his first fight with Tyson. Bogner last fought in 1999.

Meanwhile, Matchroom has gone from strength to strength and Eddie is increasing his number of fighters which now includes Anthony JoshuaKathy Taylor and Dimitri Bevel among many others.

Additionally, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) under Matchroom has made darts a major sport, with Phil Taylor and Luke Littler As fans fight for tickets to attend Ally Pally every December.