BOXXER CEO and founder Ben Shalom speaks to bet365's resident boxing expert Johnny Nelson about his long and challenging road to success.
It’s been a long, tough road to success for Ben Shalom.
The founder and CEO of BOXXER, the fastest growing promotional company in the UK, has been making waves in the world of boxing over the past couple of years.
From grass root humble beginnings, he has propelled himself into a position of real power within arguably the most cut-throat business on earth.
But it hasn’t always been bright lights and sold-out arenas for the unassuming and reticent Mancunian.
Far from it, in fact…
“Those early years for me were the real hard years,” he revealed in a fascinating interview with bet365’s resident boxing expert Johnny Nelson.
“People just tend to think this was all just overnight, but I was working in boxing for five years – under the radar.
“There was one time I remember, I think it was a year in or 18 months in, I went out to buy a coffee and the payment wouldn’t clear.
“I called my girlfriend and she sent me £10 or £20, and I was just like; ‘I can’t be in this position again.’ But it was still another three years until anything really happened.”
He has certainly had to put the hard yards in. In boxing terms, he has taken blow after blow, and by his own admission, has even been floored to the canvas a few times too.
But not once has he been deterred from chasing, and ultimately fulfilling, his dream.
“You’ve got to be thick-skinned to go into boxing, and you have to take the punches,” he remarked.
“When I was in and around the Manchester scene, doing shows at ‘Bowlers’, and getting to know the fighters, I just knew I wanted to be involved in the sport.
“I loved it! I knew I was never going to be a fighter, so that was my path – it has been tough.
“I had helped out on loads of other shows, but the first show that I had promoted by myself was at the Manchester Arena.
“People were questioning whether I was crazy, but again, I just didn’t see it. It was just chaos and I was attracted to the chaos.
“I like the pressure, I like the stress and I like getting involved – when there are setbacks, I just see them as positives, like a fighter.”
Watch Johnny Nelson's full interview with Ben Shalom here.
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