Ben Shalom

[handsofstone]

You wonder why Sky didn't go with a seasoned promoter like Hennessy or Steve Wood, giving it to a young quiet guy with no boxing experience was madness and their reaping the rewards

[Bercli]

Think if you look at the bigger picture , just who is around for him to work with , Clarke for example is a complete waste of time , but AJ is'nt leaving Hearn , Fury aND THE OTHERS ARE NOT LEAVING wARREN IN A HURRY AND SO FORTH SO ON

When you don’t have the established names then you need to try and create them, and also make good, competitive fights whilst keeping fighters active.

They’ve done a good job for CBS AND Adam Azim too but they’re not putting on enough shows on regular Sky Sports or enough fights I’m interested in.

Clarke has been reasonably active but instead of a good competitive fight against Wardley we got a poor one against Dave Allen.

I do worry for the long term future of boxing on Sky. Sky will want PPV stars and I just can’t see where they’re coming from at the moment and even to the end of Boxxer’s current deal with Sky (which ends some point in 2025).

I agree. There is no one to work with. Boxing is a tough sell nowadays. Steve Wood would have been the obvious choice for me to promote on the Sky platform but he is a successful businessman in his own right and way too clever to take on boxing on Sky with no budget and even less talent. He's old school,loves the grassroots boxing and does it so well. Best in the business in my humble opinion

[handsofstone]

No reason why Sky can't go back to the old days by working with several promoters, Eddie Hearn is the only man who could make a sole promotional outfit work, I know Frank does the same on TNT but let's have it right, without Fury, he's no better than Shalom

[maverick23]

You wonder why Sky didn't go with a seasoned promoter like Hennessy or Steve Wood, giving it to a young quiet guy with no boxing experience was madness and their reaping the rewards

I thought initially that it was a clever idea with Shalom. Sky/Adam Smith could essentially decide what and who they want. Shalom could deliver it and then put himself everywhere growing his name and pushing the fights and fighters.

It worked well for the first 12 months but the last 12 months have been really poor. The difference in those timeframes is Sky not having Adam Smith.

Re: giving it to several promoters, I’d take that over where we stand today because it would lead to more boxing on TV. Whether the quality would be good may be a different story.

[maverick23]

Think if you look at the bigger picture , just who is around for him to work with , Clarke for example is a complete waste of time , but AJ is'nt leaving Hearn , Fury aND THE OTHERS ARE NOT LEAVING wARREN IN A HURRY AND SO FORTH SO ON

When you don’t have the established names then you need to try and create them, and also make good, competitive fights whilst keeping fighters active.

They’ve done a good job for CBS AND Adam Azim too but they’re not putting on enough shows on regular Sky Sports or enough fights I’m interested in.

Clarke has been reasonably active but instead of a good competitive fight against Wardley we got a poor one against Dave Allen.

I do worry for the long term future of boxing on Sky. Sky will want PPV stars and I just can’t see where they’re coming from at the moment and even to the end of Boxxer’s current deal with Sky (which ends some point in 2025).

I agree. There is no one to work with. Boxing is a tough sell nowadays. Steve Wood would have been the obvious choice for me to promote on the Sky platform but he is a successful businessman in his own right and way too clever to take on boxing on Sky with no budget and even less talent. He's old school,loves the grassroots boxing and does it so well. Best in the business in my humble opinion

I really like Steve. He kindly sent me a signed Jamie Moore/Matt Macklin poster that I still have in my office.

I don’t think he’d have worked as a sole promoter on Sky. Always thought he’s a better manager than promoter as he really knows his stuff but isn’t a big personality.

[SeanBrennan]

When you don’t have the established names then you need to try and create them, and also make good, competitive fights whilst keeping fighters active.

They’ve done a good job for CBS AND Adam Azim too but they’re not putting on enough shows on regular Sky Sports or enough fights I’m interested in.

Clarke has been reasonably active but instead of a good competitive fight against Wardley we got a poor one against Dave Allen.

I do worry for the long term future of boxing on Sky. Sky will want PPV stars and I just can’t see where they’re coming from at the moment and even to the end of Boxxer’s current deal with Sky (which ends some point in 2025).

I agree. There is no one to work with. Boxing is a tough sell nowadays. Steve Wood would have been the obvious choice for me to promote on the Sky platform but he is a successful businessman in his own right and way too clever to take on boxing on Sky with no budget and even less talent. He's old school,loves the grassroots boxing and does it so well. Best in the business in my humble opinion

I really like Steve. He kindly sent me a signed Jamie Moore/Matt Macklin poster that I still have in my office.

I don’t think he’d have worked as a sole promoter on Sky. Always thought he’s a better manager than promoter as he really knows his stuff but isn’t a big personality.

that's extremely kind of him. think his family work in the business to, it's really successful. you do not hear of fighters saying he has shafted them either. good man.

[Monzon83]

Why do Sky or TNT only work with 1 promoter? That’s ridiculously anti- competitive and doesn’t benefit the sport, the fans or the fighters.

What should happen is promoters make fights and the find the best platform to show that on for their fighters.

It’s just daft Sky can only now work with Shalom, TNT with Queensberry etc.

[jwfg]

Why do Sky or TNT only work with 1 promoter? That’s ridiculously anti- competitive and doesn’t benefit the sport, the fans or the fighters.

What should happen is promoters make fights and the find the best platform to show that on for their fighters.

It’s just daft Sky can only now work with Shalom, TNT with Queensberry etc.

I'm very happy with SKY's deal with Top Rank. They put some excellent Sunday morning shows on and I get to watch The Monster.

Shalom is absolutely terrible. SKY should have gone with Kalle.

[SeanBrennan]

Why do Sky or TNT only work with 1 promoter? That’s ridiculously anti- competitive and doesn’t benefit the sport, the fans or the fighters.

What should happen is promoters make fights and the find the best platform to show that on for their fighters.

It’s just daft Sky can only now work with Shalom, TNT with Queensberry etc.

I'm very happy with SKY's deal with Top Rank. They put some excellent Sunday morning shows on and I get to watch The Monster.

Shalom is absolutely terrible. SKY should have gone with Kalle.

do we know how long his sky deal is?

[maverick23]

Why do Sky or TNT only work with 1 promoter? That’s ridiculously anti- competitive and doesn’t benefit the sport, the fans or the fighters.

What should happen is promoters make fights and the find the best platform to show that on for their fighters.

It’s just daft Sky can only now work with Shalom, TNT with Queensberry etc.

They work with one promoter because it’s easier, fewer people to deal with and it’s easier to promote one group of fighters rather just promoting fights pitched in from various promoters.

The networks will want fighter continuity so if a good British title fight is made by a random promoter, it ends up on Sky who push it hard, then Sky run the risk of having that fighter just get signed by another network.

It worked well with Matchroom on Sky Sports as the sole promoter. Boxing was at its biggest then since the days of it being on terrestrial. The U.K. pool of talent is less though now than 10 years ago and the talent is spread more thinly across more promoters so we’re left in a worse position.

[maverick23]

Why do Sky or TNT only work with 1 promoter? That’s ridiculously anti- competitive and doesn’t benefit the sport, the fans or the fighters.

What should happen is promoters make fights and the find the best platform to show that on for their fighters.

It’s just daft Sky can only now work with Shalom, TNT with Queensberry etc.

I'm very happy with SKY's deal with Top Rank. They put some excellent Sunday morning shows on and I get to watch The Monster.

Shalom is absolutely terrible. SKY should have gone with Kalle.

do we know how long his sky deal is?

It runs until mid 2025.

My biggest concern is not that Sky re-sign with Boxxer or move to another promoter, it’s that they decide to leave the sport.

[Ruthless-RKO]

It worked well with Matchroom on Sky Sports as the sole promoter. Boxing was at its biggest then since the days of it being on terrestrial. The U.K. pool of talent is less though now than 10 years ago and the talent is spread more thinly across more promoters so we’re left in a worse position.

Plus a lot of boxers that have come through since 2016 haven't gotten past Euro level..

Lost at that level, or even British.

Matchmaking hasn't been bad though.

[SeanBrennan]

I'm very happy with SKY's deal with Top Rank. They put some excellent Sunday morning shows on and I get to watch The Monster.

Shalom is absolutely terrible. SKY should have gone with Kalle.

do we know how long his sky deal is?

It runs until mid 2025.

My biggest concern is not that Sky re-sign with Boxxer or move to another promoter, it’s that they decide to leave the sport.

thanks for detail re length of contract.

[liamlion]

DAZN are a flop with not enough reach. Id love to see Eddie resign with Sky.

[maverick23]

DAZN are a flop with not enough reach. Id love to see Eddie resign with Sky.

Same - I think it would be far better for U.K. boxing if Eddie re-signed with Sky. Can’t see it happening though as Eddie wants to be a global promoter so needs a global platform or at least big deals in the key markets.

DAZN almost certainly wouldn’t have made money on boxing in the U.K. but I doubt they’ve lost much either whilst they’ve previously haemorrhaged money in other territories. I think Eddie under-estimated the promotional powers of Sky (and over-estimated his own pull) whilst I think DAZN also haven’t really delivered in getting strong other content to the platform.

[maverick23]

So Boxxer have done some promotional days for their 2 shows and I haven’t seen Shalom interviewed once pushing the shows.

In the week of Sky Sports’ last show, I saw one interview on TalkSPORT and that was it.

I feel he’s intentionally avoiding the media (mostly YouTube guys) as he’s backed himself into a bit of a corner with the cruiserweight guys. He gets Masternak to withdraw from mandatory for the IBF. He’s then replaced by Riakporhe who is also withdrawn from purse bids just before the bids. I’d imagine both were promised title shots.

In the mean time Lawrence Okolie is enforcing his rematch clause as he should be entitled to and Sky don’t want the fight as a headline. CBS was interviewed yesterday and said he still doesn’t know what’s going on re: his next opponent.

WBO title tied up with CBS/Okolie.
IBF tied up with Opetaia/Breidis.
WBC tied up with Don King
WBA have now ordered a mandatory with Goulamarian.

As with Frazer Clarke, I think Riakporhe will be regretting being pulled out of purse bids.

[maverick23]

do we know how long his sky deal is?

It runs until mid 2025.

My biggest concern is not that Sky re-sign with Boxxer or move to another promoter, it’s that they decide to leave the sport.

Do you know how long Adam Azim is signed with Boxxer and Sky Sports? Does his deal end mid 2025 as well?

Not sure. It’s unlikely he has a contract with Sky. It’ll probably just be with Boxxer but I’m just guessing.

[jwfg]

DAZN are a flop with not enough reach. Id love to see Eddie resign with Sky.

I really enjoy the DAZN content and think it's value for money. The odd Mexican show, Golden Boy and the recent Canelo fight make me a happy subscriber.

[jameswilson]

DAZN are a flop with not enough reach. Id love to see Eddie resign with Sky.

I really enjoy the DAZN content and think it's value for money. The odd Mexican show, Golden Boy and the recent Canelo fight make me a happy subscriber.

Being able to watch on my tv is a big plus now. Also increasing the price but not really increasing the price if your willing to pay for the year is a bonus for me as well. Ultimately knowing AJ, Canelo and the Matchrooom shows were on there was enough for me to know there would be enough content on there.

[Bercli]

Why do Sky or TNT only work with 1 promoter? That’s ridiculously anti- competitive and doesn’t benefit the sport, the fans or the fighters.

What should happen is promoters make fights and the find the best platform to show that on for their fighters.

It’s just daft Sky can only now work with Shalom, TNT with Queensberry etc.

I know from experience, when working with a broadcaster that had about 4 promoters on their books,that it is an enormous headache. They all want dates,they all promise the best fights,they all slag off the others,they all think you are favouring everyone but them,and so on. In the end,rarely none of them delivered what they promised. In the end the broadcaster just pulled out and no one got anything.

[SeanBrennan]

Why do Sky or TNT only work with 1 promoter? That’s ridiculously anti- competitive and doesn’t benefit the sport, the fans or the fighters.

What should happen is promoters make fights and the find the best platform to show that on for their fighters.

It’s just daft Sky can only now work with Shalom, TNT with Queensberry etc.

I know from experience, when working with a broadcaster that had about 4 promoters on their books,that it is an enormous headache. They all want dates,they all promise the best fights,they all slag off the others,they all think you are favouring everyone but them,and so on. In the end,rarely none of them delivered what they promised. In the end the broadcaster just pulled out and no one got anything.

I can imagine, they all sound so childish too.

[Glass Joe]

[Glass Joe]

[SeanBrennan]

bit childish this from Frank Smith.

[jameswilson]

bit childish this from Frank Smith.

When he talks about x number of fights that could have gone to purse bid and they pull them out days or hours before he is obviously talking clear facts. But yeah the nobody likes Ben Shalom thing is a bit petty and how do you quantify that comment.

In saying that Nisse Sauerland did an interbiew and you could see he was pissed at the pullouts and there are sideways comments from the other UK promoters.

My feeling on it is Shalom is very new on the block (2 years isn't long in the promoting game) so I can see that he does need to protect his fighters from fighting on rival promoters shows. But if this continues on and on then it's not going to be sustainable, when his guys get into World title contention they are going to come up against Champions who will be with promoters and situations where they aint winning the purse bid. So fighters will see other fighters getting pulled from World title fights and thinking 'you know what, I'll go with Matchroom/Queensbury/Sauerland.'