CEO of BOXXER Ben Shalom has had a meteoric rise in the boxing world and is gathering an eye-catching stable of fighters.

Ben Shalom is the founder and CEO of boxing promotional company BOXXER.

He became the UK's youngest licensed boxing promoter at 23. He had to borrow £10,000 just to get his license.

"People will think now," he told Sky Sports. "Where has this guy come from?'"

But Shalom, who grew up in Manchester alongside a number of local boxers, graduated from the University of Nottingham with a law degree.

Shalom always had an interest in business and entertainment and he would often put on club nights, gigs and festivals while at university and after graduated he moved into the boxing world.

Shalom spent three years with no money waiting for the right opportunity, learning the job the hard way, shaping his grand vision for how the sport should be revamped and presented.

He spotted a gap in the market and Matchroom's move from Sky was the opportunity he needed. Shalom believes his "the fighters come first" mantra is the way forward.

That's why you won't find him as a huge presence on social media. He does have a modest instagram account, but his posts are few and far between.

His dream is to pick a fighter up from nothing and send them into the stratosphere. But the Hale-born businessman also knows he has to work with ready-made stars, who can raise the profile of BOXXER.

"You need someone who is relatable to a mass audience. We want to find superstars - how they behave, what their values are. That is a focus," he told Sky.

Shalom announced in July 2023 that Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez have agreed to meet in an all-British light-heavyweight contest.

While Azeez was chasing a big payday against WBA champion Dmitry Bivol nothing was fortncoming an a mega all-British match-up has been made between these two unbeaten rising stars.

The long-term friends both have their sights on world titles, but have made no secret of their willingness to face off and the fight will take place in 2023.

Shalom says he supported a lot of local promoters to begin with before he created his own eight-man tournament.

The inaugural Ultimate BOXXER tournament was held in the welterweight division and took place on 27 April, 2018 at the Manchester Arena.

Shalom went on to stage another six tournaments before penning the deal with Sky Sports.

Those were televised by BT Sport, Channel 5 and ITV.

"We knew that we needed the broadcasting landscape to open up a bit to move on. We invested heavily in our team, and we had a vision to invest in grassroots," Shalom told ESPN.

Shalom went on to stage another six tournaments before penning the deal with Sky Sports. And now BOXXER is rivalling the big boys of Matchroom and Queensbury Promotions.

Claressa Shields says she received a seven-figure fee for two fights when she signed with BOXXER in November 2021

BOXXER hit the big time after signing an exclusive four-year deal broadcast deal with Sky Sports in June 2021.

The prestigious deal will "benefit the very top of the sport as well as at grassroots levels, with a commitment to engage with the British Boxing Board of Control".

"Sky Sports has been the bedrock of British boxing for many years. We have been waiting for the opportunity to offer a transformative approach to the sport and we are delighted that Sky Sports have bought into this vision," said Shalom.

Shalom and BOXXER have already promoted some high-profile fights on Sky Sports. The biggest to date was the domestic grudge match between Amir Khan and Kell Brook on 19 February 2022.

They have also promoted Chris Eubank Jnr's win over Liam Williams and the contentious Josh Taylor title defence against Jack Catterall, which was a co-promotional deal made alongside Bob Arum's Top Rank.

Shalom has already amassed an impressive list of up-and-coming boxers including Adam Azim, Hughie Fury, Savannah Marshall, Claressa Shields, Caroline Dubois, Dan Azeez, Liam Smith and Frazer Clarke.

Shalom is also the promoter for Richard Riakporhe, who he rates very highly.

The British cruiserweight took his record to 16-0 after beating Krzysztof GÅ'owacki in January 2023, on the same card as Smith's TKO victory over Eubank Jr.

Shalom's wealth is unverified and the promoter has been very careful to keep his finances out of the media.