FOR many people, this weekend is all about the mouthwatering undisputed light-heavyweight clash between knockout artist Artur Beterbiev and the man with all the skills, Dmitry Bivol. However, for a certain Ben Shalom, this night will be his biggest yet.
Since Turki Alalshikh got involved in boxing, Boxxer’s Ben Shalom has watched Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren develop an almost pally relationship, when they never even spoke to one another for many years.
It is no secret that Shalom does not have a strong relationship with either of his rival promoters. During Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson’s weigh-in on the Riyadh Season Card Wembley Edition three weeks ago, Shalom claimed that Hearn threatened to knock him out.
Moreover, there has been a general feeling for some time that Hearn and Warren have felt that Shalom has prevented his fighters from fighting against Matchroom or Queensberry fighters in fights they could potentially lose.
Most notably, in May 2023, Shalom pulled Frazer Clarke out of purse bids for a proposed fight against Fabio Wardley – who was signed with Matchroom at the time. That, along with accusations that Shalom is ‘ducking’ the fight between Dalton Smith and Adam Azim, has made it difficult for Shalom to develop a relationship with his rivals.
Regardless, this weekend is his chance to showcase the talent in his stable as his fighters dominate the undercard. The eagerly anticipated rematch between Boxxer’s Frazer Clarke and now Queensberry’s Fabio Wardley takes place in what promises to be another epic.
Clarke will enter the ring with a lot of confidence, having still achieved a draw in the first fight, despite being knocked down and having a point taken away from him.
Newly signed to Shalom’s stable, Chris Eubank Jr, who, as usual, has not gone without controversy in the build-up to his fight with Kamil Szeremeta, must be looking to make a statement on Saturday if he has any aspirations of being involved in any major fights in the future.
Despite only being eight fights into his professional career, ‘The Surgeon’ Ben Whittaker is already a global star. Much like Eubank Jr, he should also be looking to make a statement when he faces Liam Cameron in a light-heavyweight clash.
Finally, cruiserweight Jack Massey has a tough task ahead of him as he faces Jai Opetaia, who poses the threat of a 76 per cent knockout ratio.
Whilst it could be argued that it does not matter what stable the fighters come from, as Turki Alalshikh only cares about putting on good fights, there is no denying that this is a huge step in Ben Shalom’s promotional career. With 4/6 of the undercard fights featuring Shalom’s fighters, moving forward, he should have greater confidence in his ability to work with his rival promoters and make fights that in the past have not taken place.
