Boxing: Eddie Hearn's ambitious plan to stage fights in home garden

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed ambitious plans to bring the sport back by staging fights at the Matchroom Sport headquarters in Brentwood.

The Matchroom Sports headquarters, a mansion where Hearn grew up as a child but later converted into an office, sits on 15 acres of land - big enough to ensure social distancing is maintained at all times. 

Hearn is determined for fights return, and has even been in talks with Kiwi David Higgins about getting Joseph Parker to fight in New Zealand in August. 

But he's also been working on this project, which is set to cost £1 million (NZ$2m) and will see only 90 people on site at each fight due to UK government coronavirus rules.

Hearn told the Daily Mail the 'Matchroom Fight Camp' proposal would see at least five fights over a month. He hopes  the first card will be headlined with a women's bout between Terri Harper and Natasha Jonas, ending with a showdown between  the defending WBC interim heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin.

Hearn said talks with all the relevant parties - including the local council and  the British Boxing Board of Control - are at "advanced" stages, but admits there is still plenty of work to get done.

"It is a huge mission. We are going to turn our headquarters here into an outdoor venue for live boxing, with a full canopy in the middle of the garden and the ring overlooking London.

"We are building changing rooms for the fighters, setting up a space for a ring walk, and figuring out how we can do everything you need for this kind of production with as few people as possible. Testing and isolation are the major challenges."

Each fighter will be allowed a maximum of three cornermen, in addition to a dozen Matchroom staff, while television crew and medical staff have to also be taken into account.

On top of that, the ring, ropes and canvas must be cleaned and bleached after every fight, while everyone traveling to the venue must wear facemasks, which will be worn at all times by referees and cornermen.

"We want to make the best of the bad situation and we have had to get creative," Hearn added. 

"I just feel like everyone seems a lot more comfortable in an outside environment at the moment. To do a contact sport in a studio or a confined gym with everyone sweating about, isn't great. This feels cleaner and safer and it will look sensational, with the drones flying over the premises.

"It will give the fighters that big-event feel. The numbers will be limited but the drama will not - there will be pyrotechnics and fireworks with a big mansion in the background, looking out over London.

"It won't be great for the grass but hopefully it will be very good for boxing."