In a recent interview with BoxNation, Frank Warren once again addressed the controversy sparked by Ben Shalom’s comments. Shalom insinuated that the gloves used by Fabio Wardley in his victory over Frazer Clarke should be investigated. Warren had already dismissed those accusations, calling them baseless and ridiculous. He also labeled Shalom’s remarks as “stupid and slanderous statements.”
Warren, speaking in a firm tone, was asked about Chris Eubank Jr.’s comments, which appeared to have been influenced by Ben Shalom. According to Warren, it was Shalom who put Eubank in that position, leading to comments that Warren considers defamatory. Likewise, Warren criticized Shalom’s lack of directness.
“He says that rubbish. You know what happened with Eubank, that was set up by him. For him to set up Eubank to say what he said, make those slanderous remarks—which he’ll pay for. What is that? What is that then? Is that the way you do it, sneaky bastard? You haven’t got the guts to say something to somebody’s face? Because I certainly pulled him up on it afterwards, couldn’t even look at me,” Warren stated.
When asked if he plans to take legal action against Ben Shalom, Frank Warren was clear:
“It’s being dealt with,” he assured. He reminded that he was the licensed promoter for that event, under the supervision of the British Boxing Board of Control. “We were responsible for the gloves until they were handed over. Any insinuation about the gloves is completely untrue,” he clarified. Warren demanded a public apology for the comments, calling them “ridiculous.” However, he warned that if such an apology is not forthcoming, he will take “the necessary measures.”
Despite the controversy, Frank Warren made it clear that he prefers to focus on what’s important: the rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk and the exciting upcoming fights.
Finally, Warren took the opportunity to refute Simon Jordan and the rumors of alleged harassment towards Ben Shalom, supposedly orchestrated by him and Eddie Hearn. “This is boxing. I don’t even know why we’re having this ridiculous conversation,” Warren said, expressing disbelief. To him, the harassment issue is absurd, and he clarified that his way of handling conflict is direct. “If someone’s rude to me and doesn’t excuse themselves, I deal with it man to man,” he said.
Warren also reflected on his early days in boxing, highlighting how difficult it was back then, with limited TV options and restrictions on sporting venues.
“Do you know when I started out in boxing, remember they’ve all got TV deals, there was only one TV company. I never had no TV deal, nothing. There was just the BBC. And not only that, the venues in London were the Albert Hall, Wembley, and the smallest venue was York Hall. (The cartel) had exclusives on all of them, you couldn’t use them. (I didn’t) cry about it, get on with it,” he concluded.
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