Boxing
Eddie Hearn Pokes Fun at Rival Promoter Ben Shalom With Tongue-in-Cheek Apology Following On-Stage Rift
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Get to know Charlie Rhodes betterPublished13 hours ago on September 21, 2024
The Eddie Hearn Ben Shalom beef that been rumbling below the surface this week has reached new heights, with the promoter pair exchanging unpleasantries ahead of Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois.
Eddie Hearn Ben Shalom Rift Reaches Comical Climax
Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn has been busy promoting Anthony Joshua’s IBF heavyweight title fight with Daniel Dubois this week.
While the attention has been firmly fixed on the all-British pair, Hearn himself has been embroiled in tensions of his own.
The build-up to Saturday’s main event at Wembley has been brimming with clashes between Hearn and BOXXER head Ben Shalom.
Most notably, Thursday saw the bickering reach new heights as the pair were spotted in the midst of a heated discussion while Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson – who will appear in the ring as undercard fighters – staged their press conference.
Shalom has since revealed he jokingly made a sly dig at Hearn being on stage, despite none of his fighting clients featuring in the press conference at the time.
Hearn is said to have taken the jibe to heart, and threatened to “knock him out.”
“He said he was going to knock me out,” Shalom told IFL TV.
“I said, as a joke, ‘I didn’t realise this was your fight’ or something like that.
“It was literally a joke, but he wasn’t too happy.
“I’m not playing that game. I’m not sinking to those levels. I’m not here to fight.”
‼️ Eddie Hearn and Ben Shalom having an heated discussion just before the Sheeraz-Denny face off at their final press conference.
Shalom said to @IFLTV that he told Hearn something like “I didn’t realise this was your fight”. Hearn allegedly responded by telling Shalom that he… pic.twitter.com/la2I7YMyyb
— EverythingBoxing (@EverythingBoxi2) September 20, 2024
Hearn has since fired his own retort in the direction of Shalom, and claims he too was only joking around.
However, he went on to issue an apology – albeit an incredibly insincere one – that is likely another thinly veiled dig at his fellow boxing promoter.
“He came up to me and he said, ‘Why are you up here for this fight?’ And I said, ‘I’ll knock you out!’
“And I felt really bad and I do have to apologise to him because it was when he started quivering and he went white like Casper the Ghost that I actually felt terrible.
“And as he was just joking to me, it was just a throwaway line. He is just learning, and if he thinks that was serious, I do apologise because I felt bad after and I saw his face.”
Expect even more fireworks as the pair work tirelessly to promote their fighters on Saturday night’s card, with Joshua vs Dubois’ heavyweight title fight the pick of the bunch.