Barry Hearn admits being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame will go down as one of the proudest moments of his career.

The Leyton Orient chairman joined legendary boxers such as Oscar De La Hoya and Joe Calzaghe for the 25th annual induction ceremony in New York on Sunday.

Hearn said: “It was a great weekend. I’ve been a boxing promoter for 30 years and it was an honour to be nominated let alone actually being inducted.

“To be up on stage with the likes of Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya and Joe Calzaghe was a real honour. It has to go down as one of my proudest moments.”

He added: “I didn’t even speculate on what might happen when I started out. All I knew at the time was I was going into it for the right reasons.”

Hearn has taken a back seat in boxing promoting in recent years with his son Eddie assuming control.

The sports promoter, who was at Wembley at the end of May for the Froch versus Groves fight in front of 80,000 fans, said: “It is the pinnacle of acclaim within the boxing world so it’s a massive moment for me. It was wonderful.

“I guess I’m getting to the stage of my career where I get these honours because I was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame back in December.

“I would hope Eddie will get inducted in 30 years time too.”