Friday morning, word got out to media that Ben Shalom’s BOXXER had entered into a “partnership” with Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season initiative, joining the larger and more established UK promotional outfits Matchroom Boxing and Queensberry Promotions, who partnered up with the Saudis earlier this year.
Per press release:
“His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority, today announced a major new partnership between Riyadh Season and next-generation boxing promoter, BOXXER, starting with the ‘High Voltage’ event at the Copper Box Arena in London on Saturday night (October 19th) headlined by fast-rising superstar Adam Azim and the explosive Ohara Davies.
The partnership sees Riyadh Season become Official Partner of all upcoming BOXXER events in the UK and Ireland with integrations into pre-promotional activity in the build-up to every show and as part of fight night.
The collaboration brings together two entities with a shared vision of innovation and the growth of boxing globally. Riyadh Season has transformed the sport in the past twelve months and this new partnership with BOXXER is further evidence of its commitment to the future of boxing, with support for spectacular fight nights that entertain audiences in the UK & Ireland and internationally.”
The announcement places BOXXER and its roster under the same Saudi umbrella as Matchroom, Queenberry and, in the United States, Top Rank Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions, working under a nebulous partnership that nobody cares to outline or define. Two of the four sanctioning (WBA and WBC), streaming service DAZN, and, reportedly, some major media voices are working under similar “partnerships” with Turki Alalshikh and the Saudis.
Shalom partnering up with the Saudis is not exactly a surprise as his fighters have been prominently featured on previous Riyadh Season shows. But the move does make Saudi dominion over the UK boxing, both foreign and abroad, official.
“We are honoured to partner with Riyadh Season and support His Excellency Turki Alashikh’s vision for boxing,” Shalom said via press release. “Last Saturday’s opening show [Beterbivol-Bivol] was nothing short of spectacular and we look forward to shining a bright light on all of the upcoming events. Ahead of a series of BOXXER events to be announced in the next fortnight, the partnership starts now with another huge night for British boxing on Sky Sports this Saturday when young superstar Adam Azim will take on the dangerous Ohara Davies. There’s much more to come from BOXXER and Riyadh Season and we look forward to seeing what the future holds.”
The BOXXER roster includes Chris Eubank Jr., WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith, heavyweight contender Martin Bakole, rising star Ben Whittaker, unified welterweight world champion Lauren Price, and WBO top light heavyweight contender Joshua Buatsi, among others.
Paul Magno has over forty years of experience in and around the sport of boxing and has had his hand in everything from officiating to training. As a writer, his work has appeared on Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Fight Hype, Max Boxing, Boxing.com, Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules, Overtime Heroics, Bleacher Report, and Premier Boxing Champions. He is currently the owner and managing editor or The Boxing Tribune. You can follow his Twitter/X account, @boxing_tribune, for breaking boxing news, analysis, and sometimes NSFW commentary. For Advertising, Inquiries, etc., send him an email here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com