Boxing promoter Ben Shalom wants to try and introduce VAR-technology to reduce the number of controversial decisions in the sport.
Shalom, CEO of BOXXER, discussed the possibility of introducing the technology whilst announcing Josh Taylor's rematch against Jack Catterall, which takes place in March. Taylor defended his undisputed super-welterweight titles by winning a controversial split decision against Catterall in February and Shalom admitted the result of that fight gave him the idea to try and use VAR in boxing.
"That fight is so significant because of the outrage it caused and that’s what’s giving us the impetus to try and make a change," Shalom told talkSPORT. "[VAR] is something that we’re really trying to push and also very confident that we could see in the next year or two."
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Shalom said he discussed the idea of implementing VAR with the British Boxing Board of Control chief, Robert Smith. The promoter suggested that two judges could be watching a fight live in a truck, similar to the way VAR is used in football as a separate team assess controversial decisions in real-time at a hub in west London.
“I actually spoke to Robert Smith about it,” Shalom explained. "We’re gonna be putting a lot of pressure on for this fight, we’ll see. I hope next year is when we’ll see a different way of judging the top fights. Look at what we’ve got now with football, with VAR. Could two judges be sat in a truck [watching on screens] as well, judging at the same time as the three next to ringside."
“We’re talking about help from technology and we’re talking about perhaps judges that can watch things back at the very highest level. There’s opportunities now perhaps if everyone is open-minded to take boxing into a place where it’s never been before." VAR was first featured in the Premier League in 2019/20 after clubs voted unanimously for its introduction.
Taylor and Catterall's rematch will take place at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, the same venue in which their first meeting took place, with Shalom adding: “The fight date [in March] is locked in and it’ll be announced in the next week or so. It’s imminent and it will be in Glasgow, back at the scene of the crime and I think it could be one of the most significant fights in British boxing for a long time because of what happened."
