British promoter BOXXER will announce ‘very soon’ who will broadcast their fights in the future. Led by founder and CEO Ben Shalom, the BOXXER brand rose to prominence in 2021 when Sky Sports awarded them a broadcast agreement following Eddie Hearn and Matchroom’s departure to DAZN.
According to the Daily Mail, when BOXXER’s current deal concludes at the end of this month, Sky Sports will not seek to extend the contract. Rumours about BOXXER’s broadcasting future have circulated for months, with DAZN and TNT Sports reportedly interested in partnering with Shalom and his stable of fighters, which includes Chris Eubank Jr, Ben Whittaker, Caroline Dubois, and Adam Azim.
A BOXXER spokesperson told the Daily Mail, “Boxxer has enjoyed a hugely successful partnership with Sky Sports in our first broadcast cycle, delivering a series of groundbreaking events and establishing as the UK’s fastest-growing and most innovative boxing promoter. We are approaching the start of a new broadcast cycle and look forward to making a formal announcement very soon.”
BOXXER have also contributed significantly to women’s boxing, staging all-female cards featuring Savannah Marshall, Natasha Jonas, and Lauren Price. On February 19, 2022, they produced their first pay-per-view event when Amir Khan and Kell Brook settled their rivalry – albeit several years too late – at the Manchester Arena.
The following weekend, they staged one of the most controversial fights of the modern era when Josh Taylor defended his undisputed super-lightweight crown against Jack Catterall. The all-British clash ended with Taylor’s hand raised in victory, despite most observers believing Catterall had done enough to win.
In May 2023, BOXXER ventured outdoors for their first stadium show, which gave Bournemouth’s Chris Billam-Smith a fairytale world title victory at the Vitality Stadium. In a fight to forget, Billam-Smith made it a night to remember, winning the WBO cruiserweight title against Lawrence Okolie.
Adam Azim has been one of BOXXER’s fastest-rising success stories, winning the European super-lightweight title in only his 10th bout. Azim was scheduled to feature on last night’s Callum Simpson-Ivan Zucco undercard in Barnsley, but his eight-round bout against Eliot Chavez was cancelled yesterday afternoon. In a statement, BOXXER revealed that the British Boxing Board of Control had ‘withdrawn permission’ for the fight to proceed ‘following concerns raised by the Mexican Boxing Commission relating to Chavez’s use of a sauna to make weight – a practice prohibited by the board.’
While the Simpson-Zucco event appears to be the last involving Sky Sports and BOXXER, the Daily Mail also reports that the broadcasting giant could work with a range of promoters in the future, ensuring they continue to show major fights.
