Boxing Promoters of the UK: Inspired by Legendary Champions

UK Boxing Promoters with the Most World Champions

British boxing is thriving, with many of the nation’s top fighters involved in blockbuster bouts and contesting major titles. For many years, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua kept UK boxing on the map with little going on in the lower weights. But the Gypsy King and AJ’s great work has inspired a new generation of fighters to shoot for the stars. Professional boxing in England and across the UK has never been in better shape, and there’s plenty more to come. Fight fans have some mouth-watering bouts on the schedule.

It’s not only the fighters flying the Union flag on the global stage. British promoters are also enjoying fine form, and the market has never been as competitive as it is today. For years, the best in the business was signed to Frank Warren, the don of boxing promotions in this corner of the world. Eddie Hearn’s arrival in the fight game helped shake things up and was funded in the early days by his father’s Matchroom Sports umbrella, paving the way for the birth of Matchroom Boxing.

Recently, when Hearn moved from Sky Sports to DAZN and with Warren already tethered to TNT Sports - formerly BT Sports - it opened the door for another UK boxing promoter, and Ben Shalom was only too happy to fill the void. His BOXXER brand replaced Hearn on Sky and is already making massive strides on the global scene.

Eddie Hearn (Matchroom Boxing)

Be Real TV, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The cream of the crop is Matchroom Boxing. Many fight fans debate the number one boxing promoter on these shores, but the numbers speak for themselves. Eddie Hearn’s camp includes no fewer than 19 current world champions. The Englishman has enjoyed many more in the past, but some of his champions have lost their titles this year. They’ll be back bigger and stronger than ever.

Much of Matchroom’s recent success can be credited to going international. Since signing with DAZN, Hearn has been working closer with the top names in the United States, which has led to an increased stable of international fighters. Hearn has his fingers in many pies in boxing and currently oversees huge names, including Gennady Golovkin and Regis Prograis. The camp is always growing and improving as the top fighters now see a British promoter as their shortcut to the top.

Hearn’s stable of fighters reads like a who’s who of professional boxing. His roster includes Dmitry Bivol, Gennady Golovkin, Terri Harper, Jessica McAskill, Sandy Ryan, Chantelle Cameron, Regis Prograis, Katie Taylor, Joe Cordina, Leigh Wood, Alycia Baumgardner, Ellie Scotney, Ebanie Bridges, Nina Hughes, Juan Francisco Estrada, Julio Cesar Martinez, Sunny Edwards, Jesse Rodriguez, Sivenathi Nontshinga.

As evident from the above list of world champions currently signed to Matchroom, the company’s willingness to look overseas for fresh talent while signing and building the best female boxing offers helps set them apart.

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Believed to have a net worth of £45m, Hearn’s promotional empire sees him not only overlook the world of boxing but along with his own Matchroom Sport empire, he is also chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation.

Taking on the reins from father Barry, it is now Eddie who goes toe-to-toe with legendary promoter Frank Warren. Warren has been in the fight game for a considerable amount of time and whereas before he would duke it out with Hearn Sr, it is now Hearn Jr who serves as the main protagonist.

Frank Warren (Queensberry Boxing)

Allegedly_Fwwank_Warren.jpg: Vintagekitsderivative work: Paul Barlow, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Legendary boxing promoter Frank Warren has seen off some strong rivals over the years, including the Maloneys. Still, he’s struggling to compete with Matchroom this year, certainly regarding the world champions signed. The glory days look over for Warren unless he’s willing to take a leaf from his rival’s book and sign the best international talent and the standout names in female boxing. Is that something we can expect to see from Frank?

Despite managing and promoting the top UK fighters over the years, Warren’s Queensberry Boxing has just one current world champion. He appears to be going for quality over quantity, and while Matchroom plays the numbers game, Queensberry has the jewel in the crown of UK boxing - Tyson Fury. The Gypsy King is the current keeper of the WBC heavyweight title, and fans hope to see him battle Ukranian Oleksandr Usyk in a unification bout in 2024.

If that dream fight comes to fruition and Fury does as the bookies predict and wins, Warren will have the most powerful name in boxing. It’ll be worth ten times as much as the top female boxers or leading names from the lighter weights on the Matchroom roster. Managing another unified world champion would be a feather in the cap of Warren, but would it usher him into retirement?

Then again, Warren is now 71 and shows no sign of retiring from the fight game just yet. Why would you when you have a net worth of £15m. It is fair to say that Warren was once considered something of a fading force in the promotional game, but not any more.

As mentioned above, there is now a sense of why have a stable of fighters when you only need the very best in the business. The marriage between Warren and Tyson Fury is a rocky one but a profitable one at the same time.

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Ben Shalom (Boxxer)

https://www.boxxer.com/news/what-is-boxxer/

The new kid on the block still has some convincing to do if he’s to win over the British boxing public. He stepped in to save the day and ensure Sky Sports remained a major player in professional boxing after Hearn moved to DAZN. But progress has been slow over the last year, with the brand not catching fire. Boxxer must keep working and building if they’re ever to worry Hearn and Warren.

The Boxxer franchise currently has several title holders, including two world champions. Chris Billam-Smith is the WBO cruiserweight champion, while Natasha Jones has four versions of the super welterweight title, including the Ring Magazine belt. Other fighters to keep an eye on that look good enough to add world titles to the promotion include Lawrence Okolie, Joshua Buatsi, and Liam Smith.

The main attraction for fighters signing with Boxxer is the exposure offered by Sky Sports. While Matchroom bouts are on DAZN and Queensberry Boxing champions on TNT Sports, Sky remains the most popular channel for boxing and sports fans in the UK. The top fighters on the Boxxer roster are sometimes better known than the top fighters on DAZN.

What Shalom gives up in experience, he certainly makes up in his ability to hustle. He may only have a net worth of £3m at present, but if his promotion trajectory continues to rise this figure will surely increase. 

Becoming the youngest licensed promoter in the UK at just 23, Shalom had to find £10,000 to fund such a move. Then again, the borrowing of five figures has turned into a whole lot more in recent years. 

UK Boxing Promoters Summary:

UK boxing is thriving with notable promoters Eddie Hearn, Frank Warren and Ben Shalom leading the industry. Matchroom Boxing, run by Hearn, is the top promoter hosting 19 world champions. More seasoned Warren's Queensberry Boxing prefers quality over quantity, boasting Tyson Fury as its star. Lastly, newcomer Shalom's Boxxer aims to grow with exposure from Sky Sports and by investing in new talent.

Sources

Eddie Hearn worth - https://techiegamers.com/eddie-hearn-net-worth/

Frank Warren worth - https://popularbio.com/frank-warren/

Ben Shalom worth - https://www.planetsport.com/boxing/ben-shalom

Oscar De La Hoya worth - https://topmovierankings.com/net-worth/oscar-de-la-hoya

About the Author

This article was researched and written by Frank Monkhouse. A former professional boxer fighting at middleweight now turned sports betting writer supplying content for a range of outlets including Betfair, Coral, William Hill, World Sports Network and The Racing Post and proudly as the Boxing Betting Expert on OLBG. 

Additional content was added and edited by by our data researcher Dan Tracey

We are proud to have Frank Monkhouse on our expert teams at OLBG, maintaining our relationship since sponsoring him when he was fighting professionally, and now he delivers us top-notch boxing and fighting sport content for the OLBG pages.

Frank Monkhouse

Boxing editor

Frank Monkhouse is a former professional boxer fighting at middleweight now turned sports betting writer supplying content from knockout-content for a range of outlets including Betfair, Coral, William Hill, World Sports Network and The Racing Post and proudly as the Boxing Betting Expert on OLBG. 

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