Ben Shalom was just 23-years-old when he launched a boxing promotional company from his small flat in Cheetham Hill.
The young entrepreneur spent years organising club nights and concerts in his spare time before borrowing £10,000 for his boxing promoter's license. It wasn't until he began hosting small boxing shows across Manchester that he started rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ricky Hatton and Amir Khan.
His business – Boxxer – snowballed and Ben went on to land a huge deal with Sky Sports last June, broadcasting events live on the channel. The now 28-year-old is currently the youngest licensed promoter in the UK, holding shows at huge venues including Manchester Arena.
“Working in my flat, we used to drive past Manchester Arena every day,” he told the Manchester Evening News. “Now to be doing shows there is incredible; Noel Gallagher, Sadiq Khan and Gary Neville were in the front row.
“I grew up in Manchester and I had friends who were boxers. Boxing, for me, is the best and most beautiful sport in the world. It was almost the sport where the fighters were elite but paid terribly and the events were poor. Sponsors were interested but broadcasters were far and few in-between. I started going to shows to figure out how boxing could improve.
“I borrowed enough money to get my licence. At the time, £10,000 was a huge amount of money for myself to find a way to learn about boxing and boxing shows. I did events at uni so I felt like I had the opportunity to get involve with the sport I loved and that’s where it stemmed from.
“It’s been a long journey but whether it was Ricky Hatton or Amir Khan, they were my inspiration for wanting to get into sport and the people who were helping me getting started. We very quickly became friends and it was a long four to five years to get to where we are now.”
The Sky Sports deal dramatically improved Boxxer’s funding, ability to sign fighters and put on events. Now it represents the likes of Chris Eubank Jr, Amir Khan, Ricky Hatton, David Haye and Anthony Crolla.
“I think people think it was overnight for us,” Ben, who now lives in Altrincham, continued. “But we had so many years working towards it. We got closer, the team improved and there were plenty of times where we had near-misses.
“We’ve done shows on Channel 5, BT Sports, it’s what we worked towards. Looking back, it was a huge milestone. But when we got it, we were more concerned about how we were going to deliver.”
Boxxer now attracts talent from around the world, having, delivered World Championship boxing and record-breaking box office events in front of sell out crowds.
But it wasn’t always easy for Ben – who recalls struggling to make ends meet while trying to get his company off the ground. “It was rent, paying the staff – we had to be able to have computers to work from.
"It’s very difficult to start a business, especially from scratch. You have to have resilience. It was tough, but those were the times I enjoyed just as much as now because it was a challenge.
“I’m very glad I had to go through that because it allows us to cope with everything and has given us the confidence to deal with anything. In the early days you would be finding any way to make sure you could pay your bills and costs.
“We’re still a young business, but there are moments where you look around and remember renting a desk in Manchester starting out and struggling to make ends meet. That’s a significant journey, but one we want to continue.”
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