I think Ben Shalom is doing quite well in interviews compared to when he started. He's still very young and has a lot to learn but over time I believe Ben Shalom will become a great boxing promoter.
Adam Smith used to be a lot more involved with the media / at press conferences etc with Matchroom before Hearn started to take over and do all the talking for himself.
Oh I agree. But if you want people to tune in and buy tickets you need to promote them. Without someone actually talking about them it becomes very tough to break out of the hardcore audience.
I think as time goes on Ben will find his feet and as he gets more confidence he will become a better promoter. I like him, sky are delivering and considering they had to start again they've done really well. Expect to start seeing some of the big UK names on dazn signing with Ben in the near future
Boxxer is on the largest platform and has an incredibly effective "sales channel" Sky Sports News who promote the fights. Boxxer has no problems going forward.
I can confirm that. I have also heard that several of Matchroom / DAZN UK's boxers are going to sign with Boxxer / Sky Sports.
Boxxer had to put on an 0-2 vs 0-24 fighter on Saturday night. Just built a relationship with Catterall and lost him to Probellum where 3,000 people will watch his next fight. They might be on the biggest platform but to build you need to promote. You can’t just rely on the Sky machine. . Sky’s a massive platform but it doesn’t mean there’s longevity there if the stable and cards don’t improve and build. They are learning on the job. They literally had people watch savannah in a knockover in order to announce the shields fight then didn’t get the shields fight done. Half of the available free agents worth having decided to sign with Probellum or wasserman despite the platform.
Oh I don’t doubt that. But the ability to promote is natural. Unless Ben had a fighter that promotes himself he’s going to struggle. If he gets a fury or McGregor then he will strike gold. for me despite starting from scratch he has one of the biggest budgets around and the cards beside a few fights have been atrocious. On the last 3 cards there’s been 4 fights that have been amworth watching or attention grabbing. That’s from 34 fights which is shocking on a platform like Sky. joe pigford could have for Asinia byfield, John Doherty, Zak chelli, Chris Kongo all could have had a profile building fight similar to what marku had. Something meaningful. bens a nice guy but I think he suits being the organiser, contract negotiator, production guy. Rather that the promoter per se. He seems more suited to the Frank Smith, Francis Warren role.
Unless something changes in the wider UK market for consumers, Sky will always do well. People have Sky, it’s seen as the premier entertainment service over here whereas things like BT, DAZN are seen as luxuries. All sky needs is a handful of fighters that can talk to the public and they’ll be well on top. Hearn’s early days on sky were shocking, and then before that Warren had his Friday night fights where 1 in 4 would be good (I remember Paul Smith vs Tony Quigley being one of the worst fights I ever saw) but people still tuned in. It helped build certain guys up who would then start to drive big audiences - Ricky Burns was one fighting Martinez on a Friday night and all of a sudden he became a bit of a Sky star. Ben seems really genuine, a bit too much on times because he does still need to sell. He is still saying Kell Brook could retire but in reality he’ll be good for a couple more platform fights for him. Get a couple boxing regularly on Sky, even through partnerships (ala Josh Taylor and Eubank Jr) and they’ll continue to rule the market.
The whole Boxxer / Sky Sports setting looks like a bunch of amateurs for now. The ring announcer is absolutely dreadful, couldnt understand the guy doing interviews (he was also whispering), the fact that they shove women boxing down our throats, poor matchmaking (although it's more a general problem). That Scottish heavyweight title fight was one of the most embarrassing things I have ever seen on prime television. Somehow I think Ben Shalom is OK and can grow in his role, but Eddie Hearn (say what you want about him) has much more charisma and can sell a fight like nobody else can. I liked when Sky Sports and DAZN worked together.
Boxxer just needs to sign quality foghters and that s it. The Sky hype machine will do the rest. Unfortunately for them the market is oversaturated with promoters and networks and they are scraping by. The Artingstall/Price couple is a coup for them from Matchroom but wouldnt have seen any limelight a decade ago.