Eddie Hearn and Ben Shalom were the talk of the town as their heated exchange took over the stage ahead of Anthony Joshua’s clash with Daniel Dubois at Wembley. Boxing promotion titans Hearn from Matchroom and Shalom from Boxxer were caught in a verbal tussle during the pre-fight scrimmages at the Guildhall in London, with Hearn jokingly threatening to “knock him out”.

The world of boxing thrives on the rivalry between promoters, each boasting that their stable is the best. Interestingly, Eddie Hearn seems to have softened his stance on Queensberry’s Frank Warren recently, with footage of the pair sharing amiable moments ahead of AJ’s IBF heavyweight title fight. However, the same cannot be said for Hearn’s relationship with Shalom.

The burning question remains: What sparked this fiery exchange and what is the relationship between Matchroom and Boxxer? Express Sport takes a deep dive into the fiery exchange that led to the explosive remarks and explores the ongoing tensions…

Shalom says Hearn reluctant to work with Boxxer

Earlier this year, Shalom expressed the difficulties of working with Hearn, while also suggesting that his Boxxer promotion could thwart Matchroom in securing major fights. In a candid interview with Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour, Shalom said: “Ultimately, I get it. We’re like a juvenile, annoying little shit who broke into the industry and is doing well, is the champion of a large stable and probably has some future stars in the sport, especially in this country.”

He continued: “I wish they would approach it differently and not see it the way they do, and I would love to be able to work with them in the future – they’re probably the only promoters that are challenging for us to work with. But I get it. It’s the industry that they’ve been in and around for decades, and in any world, in any industry, you expect the same thing.”

“If I were to start a computer company to compete with Apple, I’m sure they would be met with the same disdain at first, so I understand that and that’s something we have to persevere. You have to have chunky skin in this game and that’s what this is, and we’re going to keep growing and focusing on what we’re doing.”

However, Hearn, 45, was quick to respond, suggesting that Shalom often portrays himself as a victim and shows no interest in working with rival organisations. Hearn also accused Shalom of pulling Frazer Clarke out of a scheduled fight with Fabio Wardley last year, saying: “You can say we’re the victim of the game, they don’t want to work with us, but that’s absolute rubbish. When the order was given for the Fabio Wardley v Frazer Clarke fight, they pulled out.”

Hearn listed several instances where the Shalom promotion allegedly pulled out of fights, including Adam Azim vs. Dalton Smith, Jai Opetaia vs. Richard Riakporhe and Caroline Dubois vs. Beatriz Ferreira. Hearn also highlighted the benefits of the Matchroom and Queensberry partnership, citing the invigorating fights that have come out of their partnership.

Warren assesses Shalom fighters

In a separate interview with IFL TV, Hearn and promoter Queensberry Warren were asked if they would consider a five-on-five show with Shalom and BOXERR. Warren responded with a witty remark, questioning whether Shalom even had five fighters worthy of participating in such an event: “Does he have five fighters who deserve to be in a five-on-five?” before Hearn interjected: “I’m not interested in a five-on-five because he won’t let them in.”

Warren said: “He keeps taking them out of the auction,” before Hearn, choosing his words carefully, added: “When you interview me and him, it’s a bit like a great boxer going pound-for-pound with a Hungarian journeyman, you know what I mean?”

“It’s not fair. So you have to stop doing this, but when I threw Dalton Smith and Adam Azim at him, he wouldn’t even agree to that fight. He wouldn’t agree to Beatrice Ferreira and Caroline Dubois, he wouldn’t agree to [Chris] Billam Smith v [Jai] Opetaia, they just want to get around it. What kind of fights can we have?”

Hearn went on to contrast his promotional style with Warren’s, declaring “you should see the line-ups we’re talking about” at the Matchroom and Queensberry meetings and emphasising their willingness to take risks: “We want to roll the dice for our guys. We’re not afraid of our commentator losing a fighter or beating a fighter. We just want to give the fans the best fights.”

Shalom Won’t Commit to Collaborating with Dalton Smith and Adam Azim

In another discussion recorded by IFL TV, when both Hearn and Shalom were faced with a question regarding the Boxxer and Matchroom five-on-five event, Hearn addressed Shalom directly, challenging the Boxxer promoter: “You only shake hands when you’re actually going to make the fight.”

To which Shalom replied, “We’ll do a five-on-five Matchroom Boxing fight next year,” before pressing Hearn on potential pairings. In a heated exchange, Hearn suggested, “Dalton Smith vs. Adam Azim,” but Shalom interjected, “Next year, yeah.”

An irritated Hearn asked why next year, making it clear he wanted the fight in December. Despite Shalom mentioning Azim’s upcoming fight with Ohara Davies next month, Hearn was adamant they booked him the fight with Smith later. He insisted: “We’re shaking hands now. Adam Azim – after the Ohara Davies fight – will stop avoiding Dalton Smith and will fight him next time. Come on, son…” and stuck out his hand to confirm. Shalom hesitated, saying: “I need to speak to his manager,” just as Hearn jokingly said: “See you later” and withdrew from the discussion.

Hearn issues knockout warning to Shalom

The tension between Shalom and Hearn boiled over in the lead-up to Joshua’s IBF title fight with Dubois, with viral video capturing Hearn and Shalom verbally sparring on the Guildhall stage as Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson faced off.

Shalom told IFL TV about the confrontation: “He said he was going to knock me out. I thought he wasn’t nervous? I joked, ‘I didn’t realize it was your fight,’ during the Joshua Buatsi confrontation. It was literally a joke. But yeah, he wasn’t too cheerful… For a guy who’s almost 50 to threaten to knock me out was compelling.”

Hearn dismissed the tense exchange as a joke, telling Boxing Social: “I think it was a joke. He just came up and said, ‘What are you doing in that picture?’ and I said, ‘I’m going to knock you out’ – something like that. I felt bad because he just froze like a ghost and now he’s giving interviews where he says he’s been threatened.”

“Of course it comes from another world. I think he’s very excited, he’s learning the game and I wish him all the best, but I think he said he was joking with his comments, and so was I.” He added: “I’ve said before that I have no problem working with those guys – I just said that when he’s really ready to fight, maybe we can fight.”

Hearn’s “lost and found” joke

In a hilarious twist, while talking to That Prize Guy, Hearn interrupted the interview to pretend to take a phone call, joking: “Hi. Yeah, is this the Guildhall? Yeah, you had a press conference last night… is it lost and found? Yeah, you didn’t find Ben Shalom’s arse floating around the Guildhall? Yeah, if you do, could you let me know? Cheers, thanks.”

Hearn accuses Shalom of demanding interviews be deleted

Hearn was asked by IFL TV about his recent controversial comments to Shalom, and when asked to clarify, he turned the tables and challenged the station first. He asked, “Before I answer the question, I’m going to ask you a question. Has Ben Shalom contacted you to delete video interviews with you and anyone else this week?”

The interviewer, hesitant to reveal details, said: “I don’t know, I’m not going to comment on that,” but the unyielding Hearn pressed: “If you can answer the question, I’ll answer your question.” The interviewer insisted he “really” didn’t know, before the promoter pressed: “The answer is yes, 100 percent categorically.”

“So I don’t remember what was said on stage. I have no idea. Unfortunately, since you can’t confirm what everyone knows – that Ben Shalom asks the IFL to regularly delete interviews – I don’t know why I would interview you.”

“If you’re not going to be a proper medium and tell him, ‘No, when are we going to do this interview…’ Because your boss will confirm that in 16 years I’ve never asked for an interview to be withdrawn. And yet this guy does it over and over and over and over again – and nobody knows about it.”

Continuing on the subject, Hearn exclaimed: “So now I’m telling the British public that this guy – after almost every interview – calls you and tells you to take it down. So when you want to talk about the truth, we’ll drop some stern fucking truth bombs if we have to. Thank you, next question.”

Warren Asks: “Who” Is Shalom?

Warren was completely bewildered when asked about Shalom’s identity, responding with a repeated “who?” after being asked about Hearn’s altercation at the Guildhall. Hearn was quick to explain: “If there had been a confrontation, he would have known about it. He was standing next to me the whole time.

Still puzzled, Warren asked, “What’s this all about?” only to be enlightened by online footage of Hearn and Shalom scuffling before the fight. He then joked, “Well, I know who I’d put my money on,” and with a smile added wryly, “I can’t imagine anyone arguing with him. What’s going on? A real guy.”