Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe's Parenting Hell - S01 EP51: Eddie Hearn

Episode Date: October 20, 2020

ROB BECKETT & JOSH WIDDICOMBE'S 'LOCKDOWN PARENTING HELL' - S01 EP51: Eddie Hearn(** THIS EPISODE WAS RECORDED ON 5th OCTOBER 2020 **) Joining us in the studio this episode to discuss the highs and lows of parenting (and life) during the lockdown and beyond is the sports promoter, Eddie Hearn. Eddie's new book 'Relentless: 12 Rounds to Success' is available to pre-order now and is released on the 29th October 2020. Enjoy. Rate and Review. Thanks. xxx If you want to get in touch with the show here's how:EMAIL: [e-mail]: @lockdownparent INSTAGRAM: @lockdown_parentingA 'Keep It Light Media' Production Sales, advertising, and general enquiries: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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The 24-hour moisturizing body wash is infused with vitamin B3 complex and has notes of rose and cherry creme for a rich indulgent experience. Treat your senses with new Olay Indulgent Moisture Body Wash. Buy it today at major retailers. Hello, I'm Josh Whitacombe. And I'm Rob Beckett. Welcome to Lockdown Parenting Hell, the show in which Rob and I discuss what it's like to be a parent during lockdown, which I would say can be a little tricky. So, in an effort to make some kind of sense of the current situation... And to make me feel better about my increasingly terrible parenting skills...

Each episode, we'll be chatting to a famous parent about how well they're coping. Or hopefully not. And we will be hearing from you, the listener, with your tales of lockdown parenting woe. Because let's be honest, none of us know what we're doing. Hello and welcome to Lockdown Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett, Josh Whittacombe, Josh Widdicombe. Just taking them. Aww.

So close. So close. That's a cute one. That is a cute one. That was Emma aged four. Do you know what? I've got a question for you, Rob, that I've just thought of. Would you have considered doing children's TV? And question two, do you think you'd have been good at it?

I don't think so, no. I think I've got more edge than I show. I think you'd end up slamming a child by mistake like yeah I think you'd end up like doing a joke at their expense and it would all go wrong because I struggle a little bit with stiff-necked comedians sometimes I go in on them a bit hard and they panic because they're only children and no one's ever shouted over them before so they don't know how to cope like so I struggle with that never mind little kids you know what i mean if you'd hosted run the risk you'd have absolutely destroyed a child for getting it wrong prone him in the gun i'm a bit too quick i like to call it the

sort of lemac disease where lemac's so fast on a panel show that he will leave all emotion and compassion aside to get the joke in and then come come up to you after and go, I'm really sorry about that. I just said it too quick. His brain, it's just, his brain's like a Formula One car of speed. Yeah. It's just bang, bang, bang. And that's something to me I would have lied to when he came up to me and,

oh yeah, that was a bit harsh, sorry about that, it just came out too quick. So I think, again, I think I'd be a bit like that. You'd be saying that to a four-year-old in the green room of... Sorry about all that stuff about your mum being a prick, mate. I, yeah, just come out a bit like that. You'd be saying that to a four-year-old in the green room of... Sorry about all that stuff about your mum being a prick, mate. I, um... Yeah, just come out a bit quick.

I've had a big night last night. Sorry about that. You're all right. You'll stop crying at me. Get someone to get my football or something. Get out of there. Yeah, what about you?

I don't know if you'd... No, it wouldn't have been for me. It wouldn't have worked. It wouldn't have worked. It takes a certain skill set, doesn't it? It really does. I mean, yeah. So, not for me. me i mean let's say we've been a teacher of young kids and stuff like i've got my my four well she's gonna be five soon my five-year-old's parents evening of the

first school of primary school this week which is gonna be i mean what can you say about a kid at that age i've told you what the what my first parents evening didn't i no my teacher went mrs beckett where do we start with robert let's put it this way he's never going to be a high flyer five five um it would have been four and a half actually um i suggest you get down the early learning center and get some blocks and shapes what and then my mom took me out of school and took me to another school that is amazing look at me now yeah i'm illiterate but i did host a royal variety performance who's laughing now eh yeah i'll take mid-level flyer just enough to parachute from but not to be picked up on radar yeah um well that's nice that's nice to hear that you know you've overcome that any uh parents

evening disasters that anyone wants to give to make you feel better ahead of this uh first parents evening you know the email address um how's your week been rob it's been all right actually yeah i've been at home a bit more the kids doing the school runs and stuff how about you you all right yeah i've got into quite good um i've really i've got much better i've developed a technique of making tasks I need to do around the house fun for my daughter. All right. So then it's like a game. So just turning really boring things into a game. So tidied the drawers in my office. She really enjoyed that. Yeah. But what was the game? Each thing I'd say, keep or throw away. And then she'd have to put them in a different pile.

Oh, that's good. Yeah. Good, huh? And then breaking up some polystyrene that came with her new bed. That was a fun game. Yeah. And then taking some clothes to the charity shop. She absolutely loves taking the clothes to the charity shop.

You sent her on her own. Off you go. Heavy bag, but you're doing a good deed. See you in a bit. I do that with my girls but i do sergeant major yeah sergeant major is quite a good one where you sort of go right army assemble you make them all stand up and march and then send them off to do stuff that's it's it's a really good thing and i've what i've realized is because the stuff they are into is so boring in itself

they don't realize that what you're doing is actually boring as well it's as crap as the stuff they like i think it's an adult job so it must be fun and exciting but isn't our life's awful also as well another technique is whoever tidies up the quickest gets a bag of haribo that really gets them going yeah and do they both get one or is that absolutely you know winner winners only i mean always ends up as a draw yeah they've had 15 score draws in a row of who tidied up the best i tell you what seeing as it's been a draw again, you both have Harry by. Have you got anything on the Instagram, Rob?

Yeah, I've got some Instagram DMs. We're still going through. Joshua, do you want this one? Yeah. So, hi, Rob and Josh. Love the podcast. It's really helped me get through lockdown of the last six months. Thank you.

Oh, I'm glad to have helped to leave from Swindon. Following on from trunk and bomber, this is when my daughter called an elephant trunk, instead of saying trunk, C-U-N-T, which I can inform you she's moved on from, but she can't say conker. She says onker, which just sounds like she wants a game of onkers

where you just basically smash yogurts on each other. But she says onkers and she says a corn for acorn which really makes me laugh a corn um anyway like a harvester waitress a corn um here we go so from trunk to bomber wanted to share with you that we used to have a huge wall clock train station style and my four-year-old boy, when he was about two, used to tell everyone that we had a huge black cock in our kitchen. Hilarious, but also quite embarrassing. We got rid of the clock when we redecorated.

I mean, that is an extreme way to avoid having that problem, surely. Oh, we've got another one here um hi josh and rob firstly i'm not a parent but i absolutely love the podcast i persuaded my sister a busy mum of three to have a listen she loved it also but she did comment that she thought the guys talked very quickly i assume she was just referring to rob's usual cockney knees up chitter chatter and quick whip banter so i thought nothing of it however a couple of days ago she sends me a text said okay there's a reason i thought they were super rapid i had it on 1.5 times speed didn't even know that was a thing i thought it was worth noting just in case

there's any other half- half asleep parents out there that have you guys on fast forward by mistake there's another scottie on 0.5 to really appreciate it to really get the most out of it a nuance of it all i do find and i don't want to tell you who but there are a couple of comedy podcasts i do love but I've always had issues with the contributor's speed of delivery, and I listen to theirs on 1.5 to increase the last per minute count. Is that true? Yeah. Wow. Can I have a guess?

Yep. Yep. Because it's good stuff, but it takes too long to get there. So impatient. Anyway. What does it sound like on 1.5? Is it listenable? It's hilarious. Absolutely hilarious.

Right. If you want to get in touch with the show, here is how. Email us hello at lockdownparenting.co.uk or tweet us at lockdownparents or Instagram lockdown underscore parenting. And you can also send us stuff P.O. Box 76748 London E99DW. So today, Rob, we've got a a guest very excited about this guest for those that aren't aware of um the boxing world would you like to give a brief pre-see of eddie hearn well eddie hearn uh son of barry hearn for our older listeners and he's uh well basically the biggest

uh boxing promoter in the world he's got fight fight, he looks after Anthony Joshua and he looks after Karl Frotch, sold out Wembley Stadium, 90,000 people and he's a huge personality, full of charisma, very funny and an incredibly hard, relentless worker. But yeah, he's a great guy and he's got two young daughters that he lives with with his wife in Essex and here is Eddie Hearn. Hello and welcome Eddie He, to the podcast. How are you? I'm good, thank you. Well, I'm good. I've got bloody COVID-19, but other than that, I don't feel too bad.

That sums up your positivity, I think. Doing well, doing well. Got COVID-19, but apart from that, absolutely fine. It's quite funny because I've actually, it looks like I've given it to my old man as well, which is more of a concern, but he's fine as well. He's fine as well at the moment, but it's quite funny because he said i've actually it looks like i've given it to my old man as well which is more of a concern but he's fine as well he's fine as well at the moment but it's quite funny because he said to me last night he said you know what's funny he said i gave you a bloody empire and you gave me corona that's quite funny but the funny thing is as i was saying to you off air, is I'm upstairs and I've got to stay up here for 10 days. So I've done four.

And unfortunately, my missus and kids, who are fine, have got to self-isolate for two weeks. Now they've got to go back to homeschooling. So I'm like, all I can hear downstairs is doors slamming and, I hate you. I'm not doing this and i'm like every now and again i just fire a text into the missus game you're doing great darling wow so you're not allowed down there so you're not allowed down there at all you've got to be completely separate so she's got to do it all with two kids i've got the pike i open the door say hi guy my kids go get back in your room so i'm like all right okay so

how are you like eating and stuff you're getting your food just left outside your door they literally run upstairs and like leave a plate and then go it's there and run downstairs so how old are your kids eddie they're 10 and 8 10 and 8 okay yeah yeah so at the moment you're just sort of on your own but how how was it when you were involved in the uh homeschooling back in it back in the day full lockdown absolutely horrendous I mean I think I've got two I've got two daughters I've got two smart kids but academically I don't think you know they're they're standouts but they're quite lippy quite leery they you know they where do they get that from then yeah I know well that's the problem is that like me they're silver spoon kids you know so the aim is and it was always my dad's aim to make sure that you understood about hard work and you know making sure that you had value

for everything in life particularly your family so for me it's difficult i think parenting a kid who has an upbringing that's a little bit unusual and that is the case with with my kids because we're flying around places you know they're coming to shows etc etc so it's important for me that obviously academically is very important as well but just just discipline and respect and manners you know to be honest with you is is up as far up there for me as the academic side but homeschooling was brutal because my oldest just winds me up so bad and there was one occasion when I was sitting at a desk and she's like I said right we're doing like some quite complex multiplication so I'm breaking it

down and I'm like right what's um you know four plus four so and she's like 13 and i go right now stop messing around let's just get this done okay 12 and i'm like no listen to me right just say it and she's like 17 16 15 14 and i've just like literally i don't i try not to lose my temper but i've just banged the desk with my hand right and like caved the desk in and she's looked at me and i and my wife just come in she went you've got to go you've got to leave now for work i'll take that i think i think it was probably the hardest one of the hardest periods of my parenting experience so far and in the end to be honest with you we just sort of said and the worst thing was we tried our nuts off well my nuts um for about oh i don't know three or four weeks and then i phoned up the teacher and i was like i've got to tell you

he's causing arguments and the atmosphere in the house is not good and they're like oh well if it's like that just do what you can i was like what they told me that four weeks ago i've been like literally up at nine right till till four o'clock trying to do every lesson and then they say i'm not no one else is really doing it all i'm like oh you just wasted a month of my life so it's a mad year isn't it what's it normally like with the parenting stuff because your diary i mean especially last couple of years when you've i'm a big boxing fan so where have you moving into like america and you're you're promoting over there you're back and forth from america to europe all all over the place how how do you manage it with the kids just sort of dumped on you and you got

back on a sunday morning or you know yeah that's probably the hardest thing to be honest with you because this is hard being away from the kids anyway but when you fly home you know if i did a show on a saturday night you know generally you'd finish late and then you'd get up and then you'd fly back and then you might land at I don't know five o'clock in the morning six o'clock in the morning go to work and then go and pick them up from school and then of course you haven't seen them for a week so you're required to do absolutely everything that you know a normal father would be required to do whether that's go and play netball whether that's watch them play the piano whether that's watch him doing trampolining or whatever it is. And it is hard to have that enthusiasm as well, because I think, you know,

I'm very lucky with, with the missus who, you know, is the rock at home, but, but as soon as I get home, she doesn't go, Oh, you must be tired, dear. Why don't you go and have a lay down? She said, there they are. See you later. And then goes upstairs and chills out quite rightfully so so it's about the balance really and I think the one good thing I guess everyone's bored of talking about it now but lockdown has given everybody a chance to sort of re-evaluate their life a little bit and spend more time with their kids and you know I've seen my kids more in the last five months than I've than I have their whole lives to be honest with you.

If you've spent a lot of time, you're either working or you're back in your parenting. Is this 10 days when you're on your own stuck in a room upstairs? Is it, between us, a bit of a relief? Yeah, I won't say it too loudly because you've got me out of time. I mean, it started off. So we do these boxing shows now that are behind closed doors. And we take everybody that goes in to the hotel. So you arrive at the hotel, you get tested,

you go straight to your room, and you're not allowed to leave your room until you've got your results. So I rocked in there last Thursday. Felt a bit ropy, to be honest with you, but thought, I think I've just got a cold. Got the test. We tested 80 people.

One comes back positive, me, right? So the security come to the room, drop off this PPE. I had to be escorted in a PPE mask, gloves, like apron, but down to my car. It was so embarrassing. And then I got in the car and I'm driving home and I'm thinking, Oh my God, I've got to be at home for 10 days. And then I've sort of, I got in this room on Thursday night and it's now Monday morning.

I'm quite enjoying myself. You know, the food's coming to the door. I've got my laptop. I've got my phone. Last night I watched the boxing on Sky Go. Right. I mean, I can hear Last night I watched the boxing on Sky Go. Right? I mean, I can hear all the arguments downstairs,

but just can't get involved. I'm sorry. So, actually, yeah, it's all right. It's all right. How did your wife take the news that this was going to be the set up? It's like my fault. It's like, darling, I've got terrible news. What? I tested positive for COVID. Oh, you idiot. It's like darling i've got i've got terrible news what i tested positive for covid oh you

idiot it's like well i've tried i've really tried to be you know careful i wear a mask i sanitize my hands oh i can't believe this why have you done this it would be you wouldn't it yeah so yeah and um you know i think uh she's no she's not in a good good frame of mind to be honest because i i did i messaged her this morning i just said um could i have a poached egg with avocado on toast and she didn't reply and then i just got a knock at the door half hour later and it was just like this one bit of toast with like a little flicker of avocado on it and you're talking about your your daughters and stuff about like you know silver spoon kids you refer to them as and that's what you've sort of been referred to as you've grown up is their childhood very different to your childhood or is it quite similar because it was quite a jump wasn't it, from your dad's Barry's childhood to yours?

And he does like to remind you of that quite a lot, doesn't he? Yeah, I think the difference is, obviously, you know, my dad came from East London. His dad was a bus driver and he lived on a council estate. They had no money. And, you know, he built his empire up from nothing. Obviously, I had a touch and I was born, you know, but, you know, one thing that when I wrote that book, it's like you start reflecting on your childhood. And I think growing up, I was always Barry Hearn's son. And actually, probably only in the last six, seven, eight years, I've started making a name for myself. So me and my dad always joke that now he's Eddie Hearn's dad but growing up he you know he was petrified that I would be all the things that he hated which was the sport rich kid you know who had everything and you know never had to

struggle for anything and I think family to us is the most important thing and we want to make sure that everybody you know is is safe and looked after. And, you know, we want to set them up for the future because that's the sort of school of thought that we have as a family. But at the same time, we are, I think, probably his best achievement in terms of his parenting was that I do have a complete working class mentality. You know, we know that I was born into wealth. That's just how it was but i do i don't see myself as you know a rich kid who just you know found his way into this job i work my nuts off and i want it's a bit different because i've got two daughters i think i think

you know if i had a son i might parent in a slightly different way you know i just want them to be happy really but i want them to understand the important things you know like he drummed into me how did he do it Eddie how what were his things that he'd do I think you know like when we were young and I see it now a lot with his with his grandparenting is that and it's a very straight it might sound strange to some people listening to this but it's basically that you're not given anything. So if we were playing, I know I played a lot of cricket when I was younger, quite a decent standard,

but when we used to play in the garden, he would bowl literally full tilt at me. You know, and when I'm talking about when I was like, I don't know, eight, nine, 10,

11, 12. And he was like, before we come into battle, before we play, he'd say to me, now, you ready? And it wasn't that he just wanted to win against me, but he was like, I'm not going to. And when we used to play table tennis, like we'd roll around on the floor.

Like I would be diving around this room and he would be doing, he would never, ever let me win. And I think that was one thing that he always drummed into me particularly is that you know he wouldn't let me have those kind of things easily so when I won or when I hit a good shot I deserved it

and I'd earned that right to do it rather than you know I do it now with my kids and I do exactly the same thing where we're playing in goal outside and I won't let her score. It looks like you're six at five. You've got a big frame in goal. Yeah, but it's like, I don't know.

Everyone's parents different, don't they? Some will let it go through the legs and go, oh. But for us, you know, it's very difficult sometimes, I think, bringing a kid up in in you know in that kind of upbringing because you know like i say i'm traveling around the world you know they're going on great holidays with it's not a normal upbringing for them and i didn't have a normal upbringing you know at weekends i would be at the crucible watching steve davis win the world championship and the next week i'd be in America watching Nazeem Hamid, you know?

So it's very, it's hard to explain really, but I think the key is that, you know, I was horrible at school really, you know, especially in the early parts. I went to a school called Brentwood school,

which was a private school, very good school. But I just, I had a problem with authority i think and because i was living this life where you know i was around all these superstars and you know razzmatazz i looked at the teachers and thought who are you i know that but that actually disgusts me i know we laugh about it but as a kid that's I look at that kid now and think oh you're horrible you you know like I was flash I was you know and I had a good heart but I just

had a problem with being told what to do by someone that I didn't but you know in my mind who are you you're a teacher like what have you you haven't won five world championships I don't know I I struggled with that. And then I kind of got kicked out after my GCSEs. And I went to a college in Romford called Havering College, which was pretty shit, really. But it was like everyone was bunking off. Like, you imagine going from like a top private school

to just basically this B-Tech college like on the borders of East London. And no one really wanted wanted to do any work and everyone was just bunking off and after a while i thought to myself you don't even get told off do you know what i mean it's like so i said to the teacher one day i said what happens if you don't show up and he went well it's up to you and you probably won't get a job and you know you won't learn and there's nothing i can do about it and and that sort of motivated me i ended up getting three solid A levels. But that was, I don't know, I always remember that because I think about it with my kids as well.

And I think they're a little bit like that as well. I think sometimes you've got to be careful with just being an authoritarian all the time and telling people off and, you know, constantly saying, no, this is wrong, this is wrong this is wrong do this do that because in the end it got worse and worse for me but when no one was telling me off and just trying to say look it's down to you it's a fine line i think so you know like i said with my kids i want them to do well academically and i want them to love their sport but i want them to be good people you know and i want them to have manners and respect and I think that's the one thing these days kids have virtually none of

compared to days gone by. I mean, I do see this whole new culture of the tech culture and mobile phones and, you know, and it worries the life out of me, really. So do you also have – Have they got mobile phones? And social media and stuff? Yeah, they have. And, I mean, TikTok's been the bane of my life for the lockdown.

And at least TikTok's sort of semi-creative. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? But I do find it, you know, I mean, we're all guilty of it, aren't we? Because even me and my missus will sit there. Sometimes I'll be laying on the bed watching a bit of TV. I'm on my phone. She's on her phone. I'm thinking, how do you expect the kids to to do anything differently especially when they're programmed that way in this new society but we try now i was speaking to my mate the other day and he's like you know i i don't let them have their phones and they can have them for 10 minutes on a friday that's it and i'm like how'd you do that you know now i say it's so with that. You know, so now I say, it's so easy, isn't it, to take the phone. You know, if they're not being good, the phone is always a great thing to remove from them.

Yeah. Because we know they're obsessed with them. So you remove the phone. But me and my missus will always argue because it's when you give it back. You know, because it's like, oh, well, you only give them back. It's so easy, isn't it? Just to get that bit of peace and quiet to go oh go on then here's your phone but we must do it as do you have rules though do you have rules on the phone or is there any like sort of rules of social media is it private accounts my missus monitors their social media like a hawk you know okay

monitor my social media like a hawk but you know i think that if you if you expose someone to something at a younger age and educate them about it i'll be a lot more confident that they'll be able to deal with that not just now but in the next few years as well i don't agree with sort of keeping this away from them and saying no you're not having a phone and you're not to go on social media and because when you get, when you finally get that chance at, I don't know, 12, 13,

14, 15, you know, one, you're going to be wet behind the ears. And two, you're not really going to understand what's right and wrong. So again,

there's a fine line. It seems like there's a lot of fine lines on parenting between what to do. I don't mind them having social media, private accounts, et cetera, et cetera. And the missus, and no one can follow them unless the missus says oh your approves it or whatever it is but as long as they understand i think the

schools do a good job these days in educating that you know because i think if i if i was growing up with social media it would have been like the wild west you know yeah well if so if someone has a follow request will it have to go through their mum to approve it? Yes. It'd be a lot more scary if it had to go through you. I would, I would never follow my mate if Eddie Hearn had to approve it. She'd like,

she'd log on to Instagram and be like, zero followers. But it was funny because when I did the KSI Logan Paul fight, people were going up to her at school going, oh my God, oh my God, your dad knows KSI and Logan Paul. And she like she didn't even know they were because she's a bit younger than that you know yeah oh no yeah yeah I think they're two guys you don't oh my god so I've got those guys

to do a little message for her you know on her TikTok yeah and it's become basically like a legend at the school you know so that was nice that was nice all the other superstars you've got like Anthony Joshua no not interested yeah yeah yeah YouTube and do you reckon that your daughters will work in the family firm or would you rather them do their own thing when I left college I was so hell-bent on not working for my dad because at school everyone would say to me well you're only gonna go and work for your dad anyway you ain't gotta worry you know so i spent sort of four years out in i was a i was a sports agent and working in sports agency and a sports management company because i knew that i would always end up in the family business that's what he wanted you know he geared me and he educated me

to try and you know take over from him that's what he always dreamt that i'd do so you know i think but my kids i don't really i don't know i'd like to see them go and see what they could achieve on their own you know i said in in the book that one of my i can't call it a regret but in a weird way i would have liked to have seen what i could have achieved without being barry hearn's son you know yeah i've done well but it would have been quite exciting to see what I could have done from nothing you know but you have to play the hand you're dealt and the hand they've been dealt is you know they can go and forge a career in anything they want to do do I want them being involved in sports management and events probably not but if

that's where their passion lied and if they felt they had a responsibility to the family to you know to continue that legacy then i'd more than support them but one of my um favorite bit of eddie barryhern parenting is to prove that you were like should be an heir did he did you have a fight is that right yeah so i was again i was quite boisterous growing up like i had a couple of amateur fights. I was terrible, but I thought I could be a world champion because I knew Naz, you know. So I quickly realised it didn't play out like that. But I would come home sometimes and, you know, I mean,

get in trouble when I was younger. But I was, like I said, I was quite leery. And if I had a fight, you know, on the playground or something, I would come back to my dad and say yeah dad yeah you know oh this bloke come up to kid come up to me and like and he would at times sort of grab me and pin me up against the wall and say you think you're tough you think you know and i'll be like jesus and he always said to me that when i get when you get to 18 me and you are going to have a spa and i'm going to teach you about being a real man because you're a leery little silver spoon kid and you are going to have a spa and i'm going to teach you about being a real man because

you're a very little silver spoon kid and you need a pasting then i got to 16 and i was like six foot two and probably like 14 stone and he was like do you know what i think we should bring it forward so i basically said all right you know we'll do that so we went down the romp for jim we got gloved up and i didn't really know what he was going to do to be honest i thought you know i thought back to those times playing cricket or playing table tennis where he never let me win but this is different this is boxing this is actually quite harmful so when the belt went and he ran out i just see him his teeth were like grunted sort of unloaded all these shots and i big right hand hit me right on the nose and i just saw his face like this so i sort of covered up and then got through the round in the second round i ate

him twice to the body and he went down and then he got up and then i ate him to the body again and he didn't get up and i was felt quite bad for him because i thought that's a bit embarrassing isn't it he was so happy honestly he got up and he was like son you made me so proud today i'm like dad you're right he's like no don't worry about me that was brilliant because like i say just that was his that was his sort of way of making sure I was all right, you know, not the traditional parenting. But that was just where he's from, the way he was born and raised was that, look, I want to make sure you're made of tough stuff.

So that's what we did. And it was in the paper the next day so at school like it's literally her son KOs him in gym war or something like that and it was like going out there and doing like press releases about it he was that happy my son yesterday knocked me out he's only 16 but it was great it's difficult to sort of understand but that's it's a strange mentality. Because like you say, he never sort of let you win and would go out your full pelt if you were playing cricket and stuff. But was that balanced with though, he was like, obviously what he wanted you to work hard and succeed,

but then he was like really proud of you. And was he really encouraging when you did hit the sort of marks that he wanted you to hit? Or is he always, that's not good enough, keep going? What was his approach? It was always the winning, you know. It was never the taking part, again, which is untraditional. So he would never say to me, go and have a great game today, son, you know, and don't worry how you get on, but as long as you do your best. I mean, he does, you know, that is his mantra, you know, that you should always just do your best at as you do your best i mean he does you know that that is his mantra you know that you

should always just do your best at everything you do but if you don't win then you've wasted your time i mean that's how that's how i was brought up so you know it was just a case of how many runs you get today five oh useless you know it doesn't mean you wouldn't encourage me yeah but that's a fail you failed and that's the truth that's life there's nothing wrong with keeping it simplistic and realistic about life if you don't achieve you failed but as long as you do your best that's that's the reality of what we've got to teach the kids but you can't just tell them that as long as you do your best you've won because you haven't you know life about winning. You have to do your best at all times.

But the reality is, is if you don't hit the results, it doesn't matter whether it's cricket, it doesn't matter if it's business, it doesn't matter if it's GCSEs, you've failed. So when you promoted Anthony Joshua Klitschko, Wembley Stadium, and like 90,000 people sold out at Wembley Stadium, a huge box office event, would that be enough for him?

Would he pat you on the back and go, well done, you've won there? Yeah, for sure. Yeah, yeah. I i mean we're at a stage now where you know he he lets me get on with everything you know i think when i moved into boxing 10 years ago he left boxing because it is a terrible business it's loads of aggravation and he sort of said to me at a time you're on your own on this you know i'll support you you go for it but i don't want anything to do with it but now because of the success you know it's more about um you know understanding that we're in a good place and and i know what i'm doing so and again same kind of

thing where he'll say to people well he's much better than me you know and it's kind of like that back to that gym story where he's like yeah yeah, he knocked me out. You know, he's a different level promoter to I was. You know, that's something I might struggle with saying, you know, at a later period in life. But I think, you know, he would often say, you know, you're doing amazing. But he'd always say to me, don't get carried away because I'll come in, I'll say, well, I've done this done this and you know we've had this year and this event 90 000 here and this is good you're doing great you're doing great don't get carried away can you see that hern sort of

energy in your daughters where you've you can sort of think ah i think this could turn it could you know because that apparently that sort of energy and commitment can be used for good or bad can't it really if it's channeled in the right way. I think the thing is, Rob, everyone thinks their kids are going to be superstars, don't they? You know, like how many times do you got the parent who takes their son for the Sunday League football and thinks he's going to be the next Ronaldo? You know, or the dad who takes the daughter to the driving range and thinks she's going to play on the LPGA tour. And, you know, I look at my kids and think, wow, you know,

you're a great singer. You can dance, you can play the piano, and you're going to go on the West End stage. And, you know, the reality is that at this age, you know, I don't think you ever know what you really want to do. I think it's important to have a wide activation level of trying all these different genres of activities to see what what you're good at you know that's why i encourage my kids to play every single sport i it that's probably

what makes me the most happiest is when i see them playing hockey or netball or horse riding or doing gymnastics i love to see that because i think we can learn so much from sport you know and when you see them come off of the hockey match and they all put their sticks up and they go through it and they shake everybody's hands you know and they show respect and someone might have a bad game and you see one of them go up put their arm around them say don't worry you know we've got a game next Wednesday sport can teach you so much about life and I think about the qualities of life and I think you know that's always something as a family with you know I was pushed into every sport as a kid and i loved it you know my sister the same and that's what i want to try and do with my daughter as well because you know especially i mean i wouldn't i wouldn't

have a problem if they wanted to start boxing but the great thing about boxing is and this is what when i started boxing at about 13 i was like i say a silver spoon spoon kid going down to a club full of rough kids rough kids from completely different backgrounds of mine and they bash me up yeah right so but it taught it teaches you discipline it teaches you respect it teaches you a regimental lifestyle and taking instructions you know and i think that's why i feel like boxing can play such a big role in the community because of what it can do in people's lives so and what boxing can do can be replicated in other sports as well i think some people are a bit wary of like sending their kids to their boxing so i think they might get hurt or they think they'll just

become sort of aggressive and stuff like that but actually i think and you know better than me that the reality is it's great discipline and it stops a lot of kids from being getting into trouble i mean every great fighter has a story about how they were arrested or in prison or in a gang or going nowhere boxing saves lives but it's also very very dangerous at the elite level but i would encourage all parents to take their girls daughters or sons to a local boxing club you don't have to get in there and become a fighter but it's the training it's the discipline you know it's the respect these are the things that are missing from kids these days and i think that i would love to see the government invest more into the local communities to make sure if you walk into a boxing gym rob a local amateur gym look at the kids in there

and look at think about what they would be up to if they weren't in there i mean but they don't get in trouble you know those kids in that gym don't get in trouble they don't get in trouble on the street they don't fight on the street you know they're not i'm not saying they're all going to go on to be academics but you know when you talk to anthony joshua and people like that about about how boxing changed and saved his life not just in terms of providing a living but what it did for his mentality of you know of living and wanting to improve and wanting to live right and the right kind of life. I think, but, you know, it's not just boxing. Sport is so important.

And I think if you're a parent, you know, not every kid is sporty, right? But I still think you have to encourage them to just do as many disciplines as they can. I think it's so good for them. When your daughters get 16, are you going to suggest they spar your wife? No, I don't know. I think they'll so good for them. When your daughters get 16, are you going to suggest they spa your wife? No, I don't know.

I think they'll be sparring me. I think another two days of homeschooling, I think it might happen anyway. I reckon one day I might just wake up out of this isolation and just won't hear anything downstairs. And I'll look outside and all the motors will be gone. Hello? Hello? Hello?

We also give the guest an opportunity, Eddie, on this podcast. If there's a thing that annoys you about the way your partner parents, but you can't really say to their face without kicking off, is there something you would like to mention that you'd like to sort of be adjusted on here that if your wife did listen she may pick up on or as a man who's already in isolation as she's homeschooling you might want to duck out this question but there's something you two argue over a bit or something you disagree on it's just that it's just that punishment and sticking to that punishment right so we always argue i go if you if you don't do that we're not going on holiday and she goes well we are going on holiday i go well but we're not if you don't do it and my wife goes what's

the point in saying that obviously we're going on holiday i said yeah right you do that again you are not having your friend around and she goes well but you will let them have the credit and this goes on and on and on the one thing is the phone the phone i always say to us said phone start arguments you know they're on there there but there's a someone says saint nasty on a group chat or something like that and then there's a row she's moody she moans you know or something i don't know she watches something on youtube that she doesn't like i I said, these phones are the root of all evil. So we have to accept that we're not going to get rid of them, but let's just limit them.

But the key for me is when I have a blazing round, I say, right, that's it. I've got the phones, right? And I'll get the phones and I'll hide them in the cupboard, right? And then I'll go, I'm going to work. And my wife goes, where's the phones? Right? Because we know she needs those phones later on in the day, right? And then I go, I'm going to work. And my wife goes, where's the phones? Right? Because we know she needs those phones later on in the day, right? So I go, no, no, I'm not telling you.

She goes, what do you mean? You've got to tell me where they are. I go, no, I'm taking them to work with me. And I've on occasions just got in the car and drove off with all the phones. Do you know what I mean? And just like, bring the phones back. I need them as bait. I think if there was anything, it would just be like, just be tougher with the phones and just say, no, you're getting back tomorrow or the next day. Or when you deserve them, get back when you deserve it. But how easy is it, guys, you know, when you're having dinner and you're on holiday.

And every night, especially during lockdown and how things are at the moment, I've been trying to get home for six o'clock we all sit down we have a family dinner i think that's great great thing to do but you know when you're away and you're just you know you're looking around and you see some parents like looking at your table and you're there having a nice glass of wine and your kids are like just literally the phone is an inch away from their face for two hours. You get like the sort of old school parents going, look at that, it's disgusting. And I'm like, yeah, I actually agree, but it does taste quite nice.

So just give me another 20 minutes. I mean, also as well, they're not far away from being teenagers and start going out and stuff like that, where it just goes up another level. How old are yours? I'm only five and three, so young stuff. I think you're all right at that moment. You've got a few years. No, I think that's going to get, when it gets really difficult,

that's when I'm basically just going to leave full time. The thought of hiding a 14-year-old girl's phone. I'm just hoping there's another virus out there that maybe can put you away for a month. Something like that. Maybe we could sort of extend the isolation period but i think um it is difficult but it just comes down to in the end you know for the way i've been brought up his family is absolutely everything everything so i just want them to be happy i want

them to be happy i want them to be motivated and i want them to have purpose in their life you know i don't want them to be one of those people that don't I think purpose and passion it's I feel sorry for people that don't have that in their life yeah you know I think if you wake up every I couldn't imagine waking up every day not excited or buzzing about what I do you know and how many people don't get that opportunity you're stuck in a bedroom for two weeks yeah but i'm still i'm still motivated i'm still up every day thinking about what we're going to do next show the next fight to make or next project we're going to work on and i just think so many people go through life if you don't have a passion for what you do it's a waste you know and

you've just got to try and be the best version of yourself you can be but that comes from having the passion and the drive to to have that kind of relentless spirit to just got to try and be the best version of yourself you can be. But that comes from having the passion and the drive to have that kind of relentless spirit to just keep on going and love what you do. And that's what I want them to have. I don't care what they do. They don't have to work for me, work at a bank, work at whatever, work as a charity.

But as long as they get up every day with that passion and a fire in their belly and enjoy life. I just want them to enjoy life that's the key but i also think you know when you talk about spoiling kids i don't work as hard as i do just so i can you know feel good about myself i want to make my family proud but i want to make sure that my kids can have a great upbringing you know i want to send them to the best school yeah i want to make sure you know what if my if she plays tennis or she played i want to i want to get her the top tennis racket you know i want to make sure that i can do the things that i should be doing i should

be rewarded for but at the same time it's not just like i've that i've that i've that i've that i've that you know but it's difficult to i want to spoil my kids you know i want it's difficult to, I want to spoil my kids, you know, I want to. And that's something that I feel like as a family, we've built the right to do, but you just got to make sure they're good kids and they understand they're in a very good position, but that position has only come through hard work. And if they don't work hard, then it won't continue. And, you know, if they can be built of the same stuff as me and my old man then they'll be all right and we'll keep that mentality and i think i like i love the working

class mentality you know it's just when things are broken that's how you fix it and when things are tough that's how you get out of tough spots and when things are going well that's how you maintain the humility to carry on. You know, the minute that you lose touch with that is the minute that I think that you start having problems. I know. What's the book called? Where can people get it? It's called Relentless. It's called Relentless, 12 Rounds to Success. And it's like sort of a third is like an autobiography just talking about my upbringing.

And then the rest of the book is talking about what i've learned so far in business and what i think it takes quite a lot of um sort of motivation mindset work ethic and then some of the key sort of business skills of selling and negotiating and and bouncing back and you know competition and it's to be honest i never when they approached me about it i thought they were having a laugh. But when they launched, you know, this no context Hearns page that sort of emerged from, you know, they were like, we want you to write a business book. And I thought, do you know what? I think this is a good time to do a business book because I can't just be remembered as a meme.

Yeah. So I think I'd rather just have a bit of credibility. I used to be on a tube or a train going into Liverpool Street and people would go to me, oh, Eddie, love the boxing. You know, when's the next AJ fight? You know, now I'm on there and they're going, oh, it's you. Do that one where you go, oh, go on then. You know, it's really what it's come down to.

And even my kids are going, dad, you're all over TikTok. I'm like, really? What's that? And it's come down to and even my kids are going dad you're all over tiktok i'm like really what's that and it's everywhere but you know you can't take yourself too seriously that's that's key in life so if you put a smile on people's face then i'm happy oh brilliant thanks eddie that's amazing thank you so much thank you for talking to us from your uh lockdown no worries guys that'd be a much better time yeah it, it would be. Eddie Hearn there. What a guy. I love him.

It's the kind of man crush thing, isn't it? Barry Hearn's more your era. I know for a fact you're obsessed with the fight between Barry and Eddie Hearn. I just find it absolutely fascinating. I just find it a shame they didn't put it on pay-per-view, Rob. I mean, would there be a market for a man fighting put it on pay-per-view, Rob. I mean, would there be a market for a man fighting a child on pay-per-view?

Yeah. On the dark web, there might be. I'm sure you can find it. There's been moments when I've been woken at 3am where I've thought about a man fighting a child. Yeah. I think he would do,

I say child, he was 16 and about six foot three and 14 stone probably but well eddie hearn thank you very much uh he was so brilliant genuinely um you know i think we all fancy him don't we rob he's such a good looking like yeah the problem is six at five he's good looking he's a multi-millionaire and he's charismatic and funny um so thank you uh to uh eddie thank get well soon, Barry. It was an absolute pleasure. We'll be back on Friday, won't we?

See you later. See you. Bye.