The Chase: Eddie Hearn Explains Why Timing Is so Crucial in Making Big Fights

On Saturday, Josh Warrington takes on Hisashi Amagasa in Leeds, England, in a fight for the former's WBC International title.

However, for Warrington it is about much more than just retaining a belt. He is chasing a bigger prize, one that he has had his eye on for a considerable period of time: A fight against Lee Selby.

The 25-year-old talked about the possibility of facing his fellow featherweight before beating Davide Dieli to become European champion way back in October 2014, telling Sky Sports: "He set out of the traps first, now I’m trying to chase him down."

The chase has been a marathon, rather than a sprint.

In fact, a potential clash with Selby became such a repeatable storyline that even Warrington grew weary of it, revealing at the February press conference to announce the defence of his crown against Amagasa, per Isaac Robinson of Sky Sports: "I've kind of got bored of it now."

Like so many professional boxers who have their sights set on a potential foe, Warrington has had to play the waiting game. He planted the seed then had to watch to see if it would grow.

In the meantime, all he can do is keep on winning, then keep on hoping for the call.

His situation is nothing new in a sport that is so heavily controlled by public opinion. There is a fighting food chain, and everyone wants to be at the top.

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Even those sat up at the summit still have targets.

Kell Brook, for instance, is an undefeated world champion who has done everything short of knocking on Amir Khan’s door and using the phrase "pretty please" to his rival's face.

Khan holds no title to interest Brook, but the bout is still the biggest out there for the latter. He knows that, and so too does Khan. Somehow, the man who isn't a world champion has the upper hand.

Eventually Brook may get what he wants. Manny Pacquiao showed a patient approach can pay off when long-time rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. finally agreed to face him in May 2015.

Pac-Man had waited. And waited. It seemed the fight had to be made on several occasions, and yet Mayweather would instead find someone else to face. Floyd had one of the greatest boxers of a generation wrapped around his little finger.

By the time the opportunity did come along, Pacquiao was too far beyond his prime to provide the kind of challenge to Mayweather that many believed he would be able to produce.

He suffered a lop-sided points loss, as well as a shoulder injury. The sizeable purse that he took home no doubt eased the pain, but his professional pride had been dented.

As Eddie Hearn made clear to Bleacher Report, "It’s got to be the right time for both guys."

Mayweather against Pacquiao was always going to make money. It needed to happen at a time when it could have produced something special. If it had happened too soon, you risked a mismatch. But, if you make the bout too late, you get a largely forgettable Fight of the Century.

Just like picking the right moment to take the Christmas turkey out of the oven, matchmaking is all about timing. Get it wrong and you can be left feeling rather sick.

For Warrington, the time may never be better than after a victory over Amagasa, a fighter who holds the distinction of knocking down Guillermo Rigondeaux twice in one round (although he still lost to the Cuban).

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Hearn—Warrington’s promoter—knows the final hurdle is always the toughest to clear:

"I think that when you’re in fights like Amagasa, you cannot afford to look past it. If you do that, you’re going to lose.

"Everybody likes talking about it [Selby vs. Warrington], because it’s an all-British world-title fight. Everybody wants to see it. I think if Josh wins on Saturday, you’ll see it next.

"If I was just working for Lee Selby, I would have been looking to force the fight a while ago, because he [Warrington] is getting better and better.

"A lot of people tune in and just think he is a ticket-seller. But he’s not—he’s beating world-class opponents.

"A lot of people thought he’d lose to [Joel] Brunker, but he won nearly every round. Now this is a fight that has raised eyebrows among hardcore boxing fans.

"But Josh has got enough about him that he wants to be in these kind of fights. You don’t want to go through a training camp for 10 or 12 weeks to face someone you know you're going to beat, because it’s hard to get motivated."

Warrington’s window of opportunity may have widened with Selby’s last two performances.

The IBF champion has retained his title against both Fernando Montiel and Eric Hunter, but neither fight quite went to plan.

Against Montiel, on his American debut, Selby didn’t make the first impression he hoped for.

After winning the belt at a sold-out O2 Arena in London on a Saturday, his first defence took place at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on a Wednesday. That is the equivalent of dining at a five-star restaurant on one night, then heading to a takeaway for a greasy kebab the following evening.

In his next outing, against the tricky but temperamental Hunter, Selby had to pick himself up off the canvas in Round 2.

After recovering from the early setback to win comfortably on points, he took the chance to talk up a clash with either Carl Frampton or Leo Santa Cruz, according to the Belfast News Letter.

He was not so quick to mention Warrington's name, though.

If—and it’s a big if, and not just because Amagasa is 5’10” tall—Warrington can impress on home turf at the weekend, the clamour for a clash with the Welshman later in 2016 will grow louder. Social media will buzz with speculation over who might win, and the fighters' Twitter notifications will fill up rapidly.

A summer fight between Selby and Warrington, potentially staged outdoors at Elland Road, the home of Leeds United Football Club, could switch from a possibility to a probability in less than an hour.

Hearn acknowledges that Warrington’s supporters—and there are plenty of them, too—will demand as much, provided their man remains unbeaten:

"With Josh, he could fight Sid Snot (he is not a real fighter by the way, per BoxRec) on Saturday and 6 or 7,000 people would turn up.

"But that wouldn't do him any good as a fighter. In the long term, people will get bored of seeing such fights.

"If you’ve got a quality fighter going up against a good opponent, it will bring the best out of him. It will bring out the performance you need. In contrast, a weaker opponent will devalue your efforts.

"People are starting to realise now—because of social media in particular—that you cannot get away with these easy touches."

The bottom line, however, is all about the bottom line. If you put up enough money, fights can be made. Selby will not shun Warrington's advances if the price is right.

Money talks, and Hearn has no problem talking about it:

"People criticise me for always talking about money, but it’s not a game. It’s not a hobby.

"It’s important when you’re making Selby against Warrington. It’s got to be big enough, it’s got to be the right time to strike to make sure they both get what they deserve.

"After Saturday, there comes a time when the fans will go ‘let’s do it.’ If we choose to have one more [before a big fight], will they keep going to the well?

"Sooner or later, fans are going to say that was a great performance, but there is no next level. He [Warrington] either fights Selby, another world champion or a huge name.

"It doesn’t get any easier, but the rewards get bigger."

Once the talking stops and the fighting starts, a promoter has no more control over the outcome than anyone else watching on.

Hearn can only hope he has to answer further questions about Warrington and Selby after the conclusion of the main event on Saturday. If he does, the chase might finally be coming towards a conclusion.

Rob Lancaster is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes used in the article were obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.