Ben Shalom ready for another night ‘of real jeopardy’

Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom has thus far had a week to forget, with marquee fighters Frazer Clarke and Ben Whittaker having the worst nights of their young careers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and having exchanged barbs with rival promoters via YouTube channels. 

On Saturday, at the Copper Box Arena in London, Shalom will promote a show headlined by exciting young star Adam Azim, who meets veteran puncher Ohara Davies. 

“It’s a massive step up. It’s a huge step up,” Shalom said of the task facing the 11-0 (8 KOs) Azim.

“Ohara Davies obviously lost in the first round [to Ismael Barroso] but that can happen to any fighter. We’ve seen him stepped up to world level. You see his resume before that, he’d only lost to Jack Catterall and Josh Taylor. He’s had a great career and he’s been at the top a long time. This is a fight of real jeopardy. I know how good a camp Ohara has had. I know how much he’s focused on this fight, despite what he’s said. And I’ve said to Adam, don’t be fooled. He’s very experienced. He wants to win this fight more than anything.

“It’s gonna be a huge fight. But it’s a chance for Adam Azim to fight a guy everyone knows. The boxing fans know, the casual fans will have heard of. It’s a huge step up, and a huge name for Adam to make a statement against.”

Throughout the year, there has been speculation that Azim might fight rising Sheffield rival Dalton Smith. Former European champion Azim handed his title back rather than face Smith, his mandatory challenger, but Shalom remains confident not only that that fight will happen, but that Azim is focused on Davies and his more immediate task.

Asked whether there was any danger of Azim looking beyond Davies, in a way that perhaps Anthony Joshua was fielding questions about Deontay Wilder on the eve of his shocking loss to Andy Ruiz, Shalom said: “Definitely not with Adam. I think other people are. I try and get people to remember that he’s 22 years old, so it’s hard to compare it to those. He’s in a development stage after 10 or 11 fights. This is a big step up for him, this is what he has to focus on. Anything can happen. I don’t know for 100 per cent what’s going to happen on Saturday night. 

“What I do know is Adam Azim is a supremely top talent with huge potential which I’m very proud of, given when he first walked into our office he was shuffling round, not saying much, couldn’t look you in the eye. We’ve seen him become a man outside of the ring and I think that’s going to translate to his performances inside the ring and he’s got a huge night on Saturday night so looking beyond that is difficult.

“Of course, the Dalton Smith-Adam Azim fight is a fight that everyone talks about, similar to other rivalries where they are sort of always compared, and they’ll always be compared. I believe if everyone keeps winning, then it can happen next year.”

Also on the bill, light heavyweight contender Anthony Yarde fights on a Boxxer show for the first time, and Shalom is still hopeful that Yarde in the future will face London rival Joshua Buatsi, in the capital. 

It is a fight he has been trying to make for months.

“At the time we offered the deal, Buatsi still hadn’t fought Willy Hutchinson,” Shalom added. “You never know what can happen in there, so I couldn’t guarantee the Buatsi fight at that stage. We then also, from a Buatsi point of view, were looking at Bivol-Beterbiev, and if someone had vacated, or won clearly, or whatever, Buatsi’s next in line. He’s the interim champion. And that is the fight of choice if it can happen within a certain time period. 

“It looks as though Bivol and Beterbiev could fight each other again, and there’s going to be a rematch, and outside of that, there’s no other fight for Joshua Buatsi [than Yarde]. I don’t think the fans will accept it. I don’t think anyone will accept it. There is no other fight and it’s got to that point we predicted which was what happened on Saturday night, a very close fight, Josh has come through Willy Hutchinson and now it’s all set up. 

“And Anthony Yarde, we know, is absolutely desperate for that fight. Joshua Buatsi has the interim belt. Josh is the guy, he [Yarde] knows is his biggest fight of his career. I know he’s fought for world titles, but this is something that will capture the public’s imagination. This is kind of thing that has the chance to translate into the mainstream audience as well and it’s a huge fight and it’s one we really want to see.”