Barry Hearn often reminds his son Eddie that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
“Yes,” replies the heir to Hearn’s kingdom, who can sell out 90,000 tickets for an Anthony Joshua fight at the drop of a hat. “But at least I turned it into gold.”
Hearn turned 70 last week, and the glittering cast who turned out to celebrate his three score-and-ten in a marquee the size of a circus big top was a tribute to his influence on the sporting landscape for the best part of four decades.
World heavyweight champions Joshua, Frank Bruno and Tony Bellew, snooker legend Steve Davis, two-time king of darts Gary Anderson and Hearn’s old Leyton Orient manager Martin Ling were among the guests bravely tackling the vodka luge which ran from an ice sculpture of the birthday boy himself.
Davis even did a turn on the decks as DJ and Bazza was ushered into his modest gathering by boxing’s undisputed master of ceremonies Michael Buffer.
Hearn chose his milestone to announce he will be scaling down his business schedule – to a mere 12 hours a day.
But his Matchroom empire has never been in ruder health, and the old boy was in reflective mood as he charted his rise from son of a bus driver to manager of the stars.
“Davis winning his first world title in 1981, without doubt, was the eureka moment,” he said. “I had been telling the world for years this kid was going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, and to be honest I didn’t have a clue if I would be able to back it up.
“When he sank that pink at the Crucible, for both of us it was a moment so quantum it defies description. It still gives me a lump in my throat now.
“We were two lads from council houses who found our way to the top table. My dad was bus driver and Steve’s father also worked in a bus depot, and between us we broke down so many barriers with our own episode of On The Buses.”
For his next trick, Hearn steered Chris Eubank to 19 undefeated world title fights, although the run was punctuated by his biggest regret.
Michael Watson – who was also a guest at the 70th birthday bash – was left in a coma for 40 days after his harrowing rematch with Eubank at White Hart Lane in 1991.
Hearn said: “Boxing has become a much safer sport since the night Michael was injured, but I would give my eye teeth to turn back the clock and for that night to turn out differently.
“I was there when he astounded doctors with the first twitch of his index finger. To see him walk again, six years later, was almost a miracle of biblical magnitude. Water into wine.”
He believes Joshua has the star quality to transcend sport and keep the family firm ticking over well into his septuagenarian years.
“Muhammad Ali was once the most recognised human being on the planet,” said Hearn. “AJ has the potential to match that. He could become the most iconic sportsman we’ve ever produced.”