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Barry Hearn

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Barry Hearn (born 1949) is an English sporting events promoter, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C., and the Professional Darts Corporation and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). His involvement with the WPBSA continues in that, following a vote by the members (the world's top players) in June 2010, he has taken a directorship and controlling interest in the organisation's commercial arm, World Snooker Limited with a view to revitalising the game.[1]

Through Matchroom, Hearn is also involved in many other sports, including pool, tenpin bowling, golf (see PGA EuroPro Tour) and fishing.

Early life

Hearn was born in Dagenham, East London, and educated at Buckhurst Hill County High School before qualifying as an accountant in 1970. His first business success came buying and selling a chain of snooker halls.

Snooker

He began promoting sporting events in 1974, working with little remembered snooker players Geoff Foulds, father of Neal Foulds, and Vic Harris before becoming manager of Steve Davis, who went on to win the world championship six times, in 1976.

Hearn prospered from the snooker boom of the 1980s when he formed Matchroom with players Davis and Tony Meo. Later Matchroom snooker players include Terry Griffiths, Dennis Taylor, Willie Thorne, Neal Foulds, Jimmy White, Cliff Thorburn and Ronnie O'Sullivan. Hearn appeared alongside many Matchroom players in the video for Snooker Loopy, a hit for "rockney" pop rock duo Chas & Dave.

Boxing

Hearn moved into boxing in 1987, his first promotion being the Frank Bruno versus Joe Bugner bout at White Hart Lane in October 1987. He has since promoted many leading British and Irish boxers, including Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn, Lennox Lewis, Naseem Hamed, Steve Collins and Herbie Hide.

Hearn withdrew his boxers Herbie Hide and Steve Collins from the High Noon in Hong Kong event at the last minute, scheduled on 22 October 1994, when promoter John Daly could not come up with the purses.[2] Hearn said, "But to be honest I was very pleased with myself in Hong Kong. I stood my ground. How many others would have?"[3]

In April 2008 Hearn introduced the Prizefighter series, a knockout tournament featuring 8 different boxers in a sort of last man standing competition.

Football

Hearn has been chairman of the football league club Leyton Orient since 1995. Prior to Hearn's takeover the club was facing a financial disaster due to the collapse of the then chairman Tony Wood's coffee business in Rwanda at the time of the Rwandan Genocide. Hearn's intervention and financial input assured the club's future. Although Hearn has been successful in stabilising the club financially his tenure has overseen the club's longest run in the bottom division (known through the years as '4th Division', '3rd Division' and 'League 2') of the Football League since its creation (in 1958).

At the culmination of the 2005–06 season Orient earned promotion to the third tier of English league football (League One) this being their first automatic promotion since the 1969–70 season.

Darts

Hearn is the chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation, one of darts' two governing bodies, the sport having been split since the world's leading players left the British Darts Organisation in 1992. He has made several attempts to buy out the rival body, which would reunify the game, but has been unsuccessful.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Barry Hearn wins vote to take control of World Snooker". BBC Sport. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  2. ^ "Boxing: Everybody blames each other for fight fiasco: High Noon in Hong Kong promised much but delivered only grief, as Harry Mullan discovered". Independent.co.uk. 24 October 1994. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  3. ^ "Boxing: Hearn rides the blows: As boxing fights to restore its credibility, a 46-year-old former champion steps back in the front line while the man at the centre of the fiasco in Hong Kong is determined to rise again after High Noon: Simon O'Hagan meets the promoter who refuses to be knocked out of his stride". Independent.co.uk. 30 October 1994. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  4. ^ "BDO counties reject takeover bid by Barry Hearn's PDC". BBC Sport. 31 January 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2010.

External links

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