Eddie Hearn says he ‘actually thought’ he was ‘having a heart attack’ during Callum Smith’s victory over Joshua Buatsi in Riyadh.
Smith ended his fellow Brit’s unbeaten record on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
Both fighters inflicted damage during an entertaining and intriguing light-heavyweight bout but it was Liverpool’s Smith, 34, who won by unanimous decision to win the WBO Interim title.
It was Smith’s 31st victory from 33 professional fights while Croydon’s Buatsi, 31, suffered his first defeat in his 20th bout.
‘I actually thought I was going to have a heart attack tonight. I really did,’ Matchroom chief Hearn told The Stomping Ground.
‘During the Callum Smith fight, I sat down and felt a bit dizzy. I do often wonder… you never know when you’re on the verge of keeling over, do you?
‘I was thinking to myself, if the Goodlord took me now, it wouldn’t be a bad way to go, would it?’
Hearn described Smith’s performance against Buatsi as ‘unbelievable’ and said it was an ‘incredible domestic tussle’ to open what was billed as one of the best boxing cards of all time.
‘Callum Smith was unbelievable,’ he added on DAZN. ‘What a fight.
‘That was an incredible domestic tussle. I’m very proud of Callum, I thought it was a brilliant performance.
‘Shoutout to Buatsi as well because he was tough as old boots but the right man won.’
Smith’s victory marked the start of a successful night for Hearn’s Matchroom, who also claimed wins with lightweight world champion Shakur Stevenson and the new undisputed light-heavyweight world champion Bivol.
Bivol suffered the first defeat of his career against his compatriot Beterbiev four months ago but reversed the form this time around, winning on two of the judges’ scorecards.
‘I think a lot of people felt he won the first fight. It was obviously very close,’ Hearn said after Bivol got revenge over Beterbiev.
‘It was one of the best performances I’ve ever witnessed. I thought he won the first two rounds and then Beterbiev won the next three I think but it was the way he won them.
‘What Bivol did was just incredible, young fighters should look at the way he boxed.
‘To do that to Beterbiev, who is an absolute beast and one of the greatest fighters of our generation, it’s the kind of performance that cements you as a pound-for-pound king.’
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