Turki Al-Alshikh has made his mark on the world of boxing during 2024, staging blockbuster evens and introducing fresh concepts that captivate fans around the globe.
One of the most intriguing and successful Al-Alshikh ideas was the Matchroom vs. Queensberry; five vs five, but now BOXXER’s Ben Shalom wishes to get involved with something similar and has put forward five possible fights for a showdown with Eddie Hearn’s promotional outfit.
Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn were whitewashed when they went head-to-head against Frank Warren’s Queensberry fighters on the Bivol-Zinad undercard back in June, with Daniel Dubois pulling off a notable upset against Filip Hrgovic on the bill – that fight proving to be a devastating butterfly effect for Hearn.
In the months that have followed, and especially in recent weeks, tensions between Ben Shalom and age-old promotional rivals Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn have risen significantly, with Warren and Hearn appearing disgruntled by Shalom during the Beterbiev-Bivol fight week.
Yet, that has not deterred Shalom from looking ahead to a possible ‘five versus five’ event of his own, targeting a clash with Hearn, who would assumably welcome the opportunity to recover from his disappointing display against Warren.
Speaking with iFL TV, Shalom outlined how the long-awaited grudge match between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn could act as the main-event, before suggesting five additional potential contests.
‼️ @benjshalom names the potential fights for a @boxxer vs @MatchroomBoxing card!#BenShalom#EddieHearn#RiyadhSeasonpic.twitter.com/7M6Btnrhbw
— IFL TV (@IFLTV) October 20, 2024
“Look at the five vs. five that could be made.
“You could have [Chris] Eubank [Jr.] vs. [Conor] Benn on there.
“You could have;
- Dalton Smith against Adam Azim,
- [Johnny] Fisher against [Frazer] Clarke,
- [Jai] Opetaia against Chris Billam-Smith,
- [Caroline] Dubois against Terri Harper,
“The list goes on and on, you could have Viddal [Riley] against Chev Clarke. There is a huge amount of fights that can be made, if we could do it as a Matchroom-BOXXER card, I am ready to go.
“I am ready to go for that next year, but we do treat our fighters as individuals and it has to happen, for me, at the right time. For me, next year will be the right time.”
Eubank-Benn has been rumoured to be scheduled for May 2025, whilst a mammoth bill is also being teased for February 22nd.
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