Ben Shalom criticizes Zuffa for alleged contract violations in boxing

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DERBY, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 29: Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom looks on during the Frazer Clarke v Jeamie TKV Fight Card at Vaillant Live on November 29, 2025 in Derby, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) | Getty Images Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom spent some time talking about his feelings about Zuffa Boxing and suggests there will be litigation to follow after he says they’ve just recently taken another fighter from him in Sam Hickey, who he says was under contract. Shalom says he’s not willing to just roll over to Zuffa as he questions their ethics. Here’s some of what he had to say below. Shalom on his plans to sue Zuffa for allegedly poaching Sam Hickey “I think they see me and they think ‘oh, he’s a nice guy, he’s not going to do anything.’ You can’t just go in and ignore that fighters are under contract and being paid by another promoter. Look, I know where in the world of Trump and in the world of this and the world of that, but there’s still some sort of business practice. “I don’t actually know what’s going on. You can’t just ignore things. They ignored that Conor Benn had a matching right, in my opinion. They ignored that we had a matching right on Chris Billam-Smith completely — not just a matching right but an exclusive negotiation period. They’re ignoring that other fighters on that fight are actually completely under contract. What are you supposed to do? It’s crazy, to be honest. “Thankfully we live in a country where you can’t do those types of things.” On whether he expects Zuffa to make an offer to Adam Azim “They will go with anyone with a pulse.” On his feelings towards Zuffa “I don’t really understand what they’re saying at Zuffa or TKO or whatever…My concern is American conglomerates deciding or wanting to decide or wanting to disrupt how the sport is run in this country. This is the place that boxing’s probably the most popular in the world at the moment in terms of the big fights and the big nights and the consistency. And it’s always been British promoters that care about the sport…I can’t keep up [with Zuffa]. One minute there’s no titles, then they’re suing a governing body — it’s just disruptive. “The IBF are probably the most honorable governing body there is and it’s just like — we know what [Zuffa] are trying to do but it’s confusing.”