After a rollercoaster 2023, Liam Smith will return to the ring after a 12-month spell of inactivity with a point to prove – both to himself, the fans and apparently to Ben Shalom, after ‘Beefy’ revealed details of his split from BOXXER. Now, Shalom has offered his response, admitting that he is ‘disappointed’ with the Liverpudlian.
Recognised as a solid former super-welterweight world champion, Smith made an eyebrow-raising step up to middleweight for a grudge match with Chris Eubank Jr. in 2023 and entered the ring as a sizeable underdog with many believing that he lacked the punch power to be successful at the weight.
However, Smith proved his doubters wrong and did so in style, becoming the first man to knock Eubank Jr. out and bringing the bout to a close in just the fourth round.
Eight months later and the pair faced off again, but it was clear to see from the get-go that Smith was not his usual self and Eubank Jr. managed to level the scores with a knockout of his own – believed to be aided by a difficult weight cut on Smith’s part.
Smith will return to action on the mammoth September 21st Joshua-Dubois card at Wembley Stadium to fight Josh Kelly, but at the launch press conference he had some choice words to say about BOXXER Promoter, Shalom.
“I’m not with Ben [Shalom] and I certainly won’t go back with Ben either. I was a free agent, I got offered fights off Frank [Warren], Eddie [Hearn] and for this card. This card was the one that made a load of sense to me.”
“I beat Eubank, he [Shalom] asked me to go for a meal the next day. I lost to Eubank, I’ve never heard from him since. He’s a piece of s**t.”
In an interview with Boxing Social, Shalom responded to Smith’s words and maintained that their split was genuinely down to the fact that he and BOXXER could no longer deliver what ‘Beefy’ wanted, whilst simultaneously admitting to be ‘disappointed’ at the scouser’s decision to publicly criticise him
“Obviously, I was disappointed to see it [Smith’s comments] but Liam is entitled to his opinion. We did headline a show in Liverpool, and we did two big pay-per-view events, I have a lot of respect for him as a fighter and I have a lot of respect for him and his family as well. I think that’s about it, I wish him all of the luck in the world for the Josh Kelly fight and I think that it is a great fight.
“I think that after the second fight [with Eubank Jr.], we couldn’t deliver what he wanted. Sometimes that can be for a whole host of reasons but as I say, I have a lot of respect for him and his family.
“I didn’t see it [the breakdown in relationship] that way, we did meet after it [the rematch with Eubank]. I can’t blame him for the way that he feels and maybe that is something that I need to think about as well. I actually do hope that he rolls back the years against Josh Kelly on September 21st.”
In a shocking turn of events, Shalom has since made the decision to sign Smith’s former dance partner Eubank Jr to BOXXER with the intention of landing ‘mega fights’ with Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
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