Eddie Hearn issued a strong response to Ben Shalom after he called the Matchroom chief to make some fights with him.
BOXXER CEO Shalom was accused of ‘ducking fights’ against boxers from Matchroom Boxing by their chairman, Hearn, earlier this week.
The most recent occasion saw BOXXER’s Adam Azim vacate his super-lightweight belt, despite being ordered to defend it against Dalton Smith.
Azim will instead fight Harlem Eubank and when Shalom was grilled on talkSPORT for the decision, he issued a message to Hearn, saying: “Let’s sit down and make some fights.”
He also said that Azim v Smith would be one of the biggest fights in British boxing and sell out an arena, but Hearn didn’t seem to be having it.
Appearing on Drive and listening to what the BOXXER chief had to say, he cheekily responded: “Well I mean firstly, despite the oxygen they pump in these rooms in Vegas, I fell asleep!
“No look seriously I think firstly, it’s all smoke and mirrors. There’s been five fights that have been ordered between Sky and Matchroom. One of course was Wardley vs Clarke, it was actually ordered a year ago, to be fair it played out okay.
“Smith against Azim, they pulled out of that one, and Richard Riakporhe against our world champion Jai Opetaia, that was ordered, they pulled out of that one. Beatriz Ferreira, our fantastic female fighter, against Caroline Dubois, they pulled out of that one.
“They’ve also got Cheavon Clarke against Isaac Chamberlain, which they’re not really talking about. So, you can say in interviews, ‘Let’s all sit down and work together,’ at the end of the day, we all want to win.
“I think Ben’s right, Ben really laid it out perfectly, I don’t want to cash out Adam Azim to Dalton Smith. What that means is Adam Azim can’t beat Dalton Smith in a month of Sundays, correct, that’s it.
“I don’t blame him for making the decision, he has to protect his fighter, he has to protect their record, he has to protect his career and he has to protect him from himself.
“Because, fighters will fight anyone and Adam Azim is many levels below Dalton Smith and I just was pushing the fight because I fancy it. I mean, one I want to sell out a massive stadium and give British fighting fans a massive domestic fight.
“And two, I know I can’t lose! So of course I want the fight and if I had the B-side that couldn’t win, I’d probably be more reluctant to do it.”
Shalom admitted to talkSPORT that he has never spoken to Hearn before, but last week hoped that their relations would improve in the future.
However, it remains to be seen if they will finally meet and help organise a huge British boxing clash between Azim and Smith.
News Summary:
- ‘All smoke and mirrors’ – Eddie Hearn responds to Ben Shalom amid demands for Adam Azim vs Dalton Smith clash
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