Joshua Buatsi fighting Callum Smith for recognition of being world level

Ben Shalom recognizes that the rivalry between Boxxer and Matchroom Boxing has guaranteed a personal edge to February’s fight between Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith.

The British rivals will fight on the undercard of the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 22. The matchup will not only determine Britain’s finest boxer at light heavyweight, but will also establish a leading contender to the winner of the main event. Buatsi-Smith also threatens to revive the ill-feeling that exists between the rival promoters, as well as between Buatsi and Matchroom, under whom he turned professional.

Boxxer had already succeeded Matchroom with Sky Sports in the aftermath of Matchroom’s move to DAZN – which positioned Shalom and Eddie Hearn as rivals – when Buatsi agreed to move to Boxxer following his acrimonious departure from the stable built by Hearn. 

Their rivalry intensified when Shalom and Hearn then clashed over the first attempts to build a fight between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke. A consequence of the softening of the rivalry between Matchroom and Queensberry Promotions – also destined for DAZN – is that the feud between Boxxer and Matchroom intensified once more.

There therefore exists a belief among some observers that a victory for Smith, 34, over Buatsi would prove particularly satisfying for Hearn, who was so critical of his former fighter, who incidentally had spoken of his desire to return from fighting on DAZN to Sky Sports.

“I did say to Josh – he’s got a lot of history there,” Shalom told BoxingScene. “But he’s very mature in that sense, and it’s just business, and just what makes sense for him. Having got to know him over the past couple of years, he’s not really one to hold grudges; he’s not really one to hold on to things. He just does what he does, and it’s a dangerous sport at the end of the day, and they’re all looking to secure themselves and secure their futures and they’re not going to let anything get in the way of it.

“Our relationship with Matchroom is surprisingly okay at the moment. Everything seems to be moving in the right direction; we hope to make [Caroline] Dubois-[Terri] Harper; we’re obviously talking about [Chris] Eubank-[Conor] Benn, and this will be another fight. It’s definitely going to be a spicy one because of the history, and that’ll be an extra motivation on their side, without a doubt, but Josh, really, has done them a favor in the sense that he’s the champion, and he’s chosen this.

“It all happened fairly quickly. For Josh, it’s difficult for him, because if it wasn’t for the Bivol-Beterbiev situation – initially, how long it took to make the fight if it wasn’t for His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh]; it would have never been made – then the injury, and how long that took to reschedule the first fight. You’re talking about a weight division that’s been held up for a long time, and so you’re sat there and you’re thinking, ‘Do we tread water? Or do we want the biggest tests and the biggest fights?’, and Josh wants the biggest tests and the biggest fights, and credit to him. 

“Callum Smith is not someone he needed to fight. Someone he’s doing a favor to, if we’re honest, at this stage of his career, but it’s a big name, and it was a fight that His Excellency wanted, and it made sense for Josh Buatsi to test himself. I think it’s the right time.”

Smith returned to the ring with victory over the little-known Carlos Galvan in November, 10 months after being stopped by Beterbiev. Buatsi, 31, excelled when stopping Willie Hutchinson in September, after becoming the first to defeat Dan Azeez.

“I always think back to [2018] when George Groves beat Chris Eubank Jnr,” Shalom continued. “That was a Chris Eubank Jnr in really good condition, in that super-middleweight division, and then to see George Groves, a fantastic fighter, go over there and really get beaten by Callum Smith… he’s a seriously good fighter who only lost to [Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez] and Beterbiev, going away from home. Incredible, incredible career. 

“It’s a tough fight, but they all are at this stage. Josh Buatsi just believes that he’s ready now, and he wants names that give him respect at world level. I think he’s got names that give him respect in British boxing, probably European boxing, and fringe world level. But he wants to now be respected at world level.”