How did a 28-year-old find himself at the center of the boxing world promoting the likes of Claressa Shields, Amir Khan vs. Kell Brook and Josh Taylor in a single month? Ben Shalom's young career as a boxing promoter has traveled a long way in a short amount of time.
Shalom seized an opportunity when promotional heavyweight Eddie Hearn and his company Matchroom switched broadcasters in the United Kingdom. Shalom, the founder and CEO of BOXXER, landed a four-year deal with Sky Sports that has enabled him to assemble a schedule this month that begins with women's middleweight queen Shields defending her three world titles against Ema Kozin at the Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff on Saturday. The event also includes British middleweight rivals Chris Eubank Jr. and Liam Williams, but the inclusion of Shields (11-0, 2 KOs), 26, No. 3 in ESPN's latest women's pound-for-pound rankings, was a real coup for a young promoter who lacks the experience and profile of rivals like Hearn, 42, Frank Warren, 70, and Bob Arum, 90.
"Signing Claressa was amazing for us, our first U.S. star, and we think she will really go well with U.K. audiences," Shalom told ESPN.
Shalom has also signed English middleweight Savannah Marshall, (11-0, 9 KOs), 30, who holds the fourth world middleweight title, with the plan being to match her against Shields later this year as part of a big commitment to women's boxing by BOXXER.
"We have invested heavily in women's boxing, Savannah Marshall is our No. 1 target and we think the winner of her and Claressa Shields will be the pound-for-pound No. 1 in women's boxing," Shalom said. "We have also signed [2020 Olympian] Caroline Dubois, and we think she's potentially the future face of women's boxing, a bit like an Emma Raducanu figure. We have also signed Natasha Jonas [who fights for the vacant WBO world featherweight title against Ewa Piatkowska on Feb. 19].
"Claressa almost got bored with the sport because she had no one left to fight. But now she has. Marshall-Shields is the biggest fight in women's boxing. Everyone needs a dance partner and those two have history, and are in the same division. This is how to make the sport accessible because they both have punch power. It has the potential to have interest on both sides of the Atlantic. Hopefully we will get them together in May or June."
Saturday's event in Cardiff is the next phase of Shalom's career that has recently gone into overdrive and seen him become a one of boxing's powerbrokers. Just five years ago he had to borrow £10,000 just to get his first boxing license when a lucrative television deal was a distant dream.
"With a young guy coming in to a sport that is based on dominance and fear mongering, you have to have your wits about you," Shalom said. "In the U.S., look at how Al Haymon and Bob Arum have been able to keep control of the sport and in the U.K. the same with Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn, and Barry Hearn before him. So it's difficult, but if you know the business, it's the fighters that are ultimately in control and they want to be on the biggest platforms and that's our resounding message."
Part of that message is continuing the development of women's boxing. Shalom believes Shields and Marshall are part of "a golden era" along with the likes of undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor who faces seven-weight world champion Amanda Serrano on a Matchroom event at Madison Square Garden, New York, on April 30. BOXXER confirmed Wednesday that Marshall will defend her middleweight title against former champion Femke Hermans (12-3, 5 KO's), who took Shields to points in 2018.
"If we can be a part of catapulting women's boxing into a different dimension, then it would be great," he said. "The girls that have come through, in difficult circumstances, are some of the most inspiring athletes in the world.... Taylor-Serrano is a great fight, it's an historic moment for women's boxing. Both Taylor-Serrano and Shields-Marshall are great fights, it's the start of a golden era for women's boxing.
"Claressa-Savannah is different in that both are in their prime -- Claressa is still 26, which is remarkable -- and they are both big punchers, you are going to see explosive knockouts from them in their fights and also on the night. There's also a narrative there: Savannah is one of the only people to beat Claressa in the amateurs. Great fights need rivalry, and their rivalry runs deep. Because of the weight division, their explosive power and personalities, it's going to be a real advert for women's boxing and on a complete different level to the other fights."
Shields says she received a seven-figure fee for two fights when she signed with BOXXER, but as well as the money, there is also the promise of a high-profile fight against Marshall and exposure which attracted the American to work with Shalom.
"I'm expecting the U.K. fans to be very excited to see me," Shields said. "When I walked out there in London for my gold medal match in 2012, it was an explosive crowd. They have great fans and I'm excited to be back to show off all my improvement since 2012.
"I've never overlooked an opponent and I won't just because of the Savannah Marshall fight. We've always had someone that we're already working on facing for the next fight. I've been in this situation before. I'm focusing on the person who has earned the right to fight me. Kozin is my mandatory, and I respect that this is a huge opportunity for her. I'm hoping to get in the ring with Savannah Marshall next. Women's boxing is on fire right now and we're giving the fans the fights they want."
Shalom said his company will be different to Hearn and Matchroom and is confident of the opportunities available to him this year.
"We are taking a more holistic approach to the sport," he added. "We want to make it more accessible and more of a meritocracy. This generation are younger and think differently to Eddie Hearn, Barry Hearn, they are less egotistical. But we have a lot of respect for the fighters and what they do and the challenge is to bring boxing to larger audiences and a sport that is easier for audiences to engage with. Rather than contracting as many fighters as possible, it's about building stars, role models, how shows are put together and what brands are getting involved in the sport.
"COVID-19 completely turned boxing in the U.K. on its head. The broadcasting scene has become more competitive, [with] more choice. A lot of boxers were kept out of action for 15 months, and there has been a lot of different decisions and developments made during Covid. It allowed a smaller business like ourselves to invest. It's pandemonium right now with boxing in the U.K., with so many moving parts and changes, but boxing does need to evolve."
Shalom grew up in Manchester and after finishing a law degree, he got involved in boxing.
"I was always trying to do events growing up and trying to find a way of getting out of conventional routes and getting a job, so being a boxing fan I just naturally got into boxing," he said. "I was always entrepreneurial. Growing up in Manchester I used to have friends like Sam Hyde [cruiserweight] who were boxers, I knew people like Zelfa Barrett [junior-lightweight] and Lyndon Arthur [light-heavyweight] too. As soon as I finished my law degree I went straight into boxing. I always thought there was something more to be done to make the shows more attractive to partners, fans and broadcasters. I thought a lot of the sport was in disarray.
"I've dedicated my life to boxing since I was 23 years old," he continued. "I got involved in boxing because I saw opportunities, but most of all I was inspired by the fighters themselves, their work ethic, their discipline and their integrity. It has to be the most honest sport in the world. The chaos from the business perspective sometimes isn't fair on the fighters. I supported a lot of local promoters to begin with, and then created my own eight-man tournament, which we got on BT Sport, Channel 5 and ITV. We knew that we needed the broadcasting landscape to open up a bit to move on. We invested heavily in our team, and we had a vision to invest in grassroots.
"Boxing is never going to create big crossover stars unless it's on the big platforms. We are serious with our position because of the broadcaster we work with, it's seen by a lot of people, and we think we can build stars and role models through that. You have to get the fans to stick beyond the headline act, that's what we are aiming to achieve. Now we have three broadcasters in boxing in the U.K., but until recently it was two and that's why it's been hard to get into boxing."
Shalom might be from a younger generation than the established promoters, but he insists that does not mean he will be working with YouTubers fighting former professional champions or other YouTubers, a recent trend that has got more publicity than quality professional boxing matchups.
It's hard to argue with the quality Shalom is serving up this month. After Shields and Eubank-Williams come former world champions Brook vs. Khan, a long-awaited match-up in the U.K., in Manchester on Feb. 19. A week later in Glasgow, Scotland, undisputed world junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor defends his belts against Jack Catterall on a co-promotion with Taylor's U.S. promoter Top Rank.
"Khan-Brook is going to help the sport grow," Shalom said. "The U.K. needs this fight. The two of them hate each other and it's been painful dealing with them. Josh Taylor is a hidden gem in the boxing world and the best fighter we have in the U.K.; Tyson Fury would argue that but Josh is undisputed champion and did it in America. We want to grow Josh's profile [in the U.K.].
"Our first show was only on Oct. 2, but the momentum is with us now. We expect a huge 2022."