Ben Shalom has worked with several talented fighters during his meteoric rise in boxing.
The BOXXER chief got his start in the sport back in 2016 while he was studying for a law degree at Nottingham University.
The first show he worked on was a domestic dust-up between Sam Hyde and Blaise Mendouo at the Bowlers Exhibition Centre, a small hall in Manchester that held up to 1,000 standing spectators.
Fast forward nine years and he is one of the most recognisable faces in British boxing, with shows broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Shalom’s big breakthrough in boxing came in February 2022 when he staged the long-awaited grudge match between Amir Khan and Kell Brook.
The event was a raging success with Shalom informing talkSPORT that the pay-per-view numbers were ‘monstrous’, even going as far as to suggest they were ‘very close to Anthony Joshua figures’.
Other big shows Shalom has put on include Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Williams, which was watched in more than one million households; Jack Catterall vs Josh Taylor; Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall; and Eubank Jr vs Smith.
He’s also helped guide exciting up and comers including Lauren Price, Caroline Dubois, and Ben Whittaker through the paid ranks.
But the most talented of the bunch in his opinion is young Adam ‘The Assassin’ Azim.
“I would say on pure talent alone Azim,” Shalom told talkSPORT.com.
“To be 22 years old and doing what he does is phenomenal.
“He’s got everything in his locker. He can fight on the inside and fight on the outside.
“He has power, speed, everything. I have never met a more complete fighter at his age.
“Most of our fighters are 27 to 30. So the fact that he is where he is at 22 means that in three or four years he should be the most talented fighter on the planet.”
Azim has barely put a foot wrong during his unblemished 13-0 professional career thus far.
In his last outing in February, he dispatched former IBF super lightweight champion Sergey Lipinets in the ninth round to pick up the lesser IBO belt.
An all-British showdown with Dalton Smith is the fight fans have been clambering for, but it won’t happen next.
Smith is the WBC mandatory at 140lbs and will be ordered to face champion Alberto Puello in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Shalom is hoping he can land Azim a fight with a man who held the green and gold strap from 2022 to 2023.
“I like the [Regis] Prograis fight in the summer,” added Shalom when asked about Azim’s next steps.
