Ben Shalom of Boxxer has come out swinging after being advised of the recent statements that were made by rival promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom.
News broke on Tuesday, that Amir Khan had tested positive for a banned substance in connection with his February 2022 grudge match with Kell Brook.
Khan was hit with a two-year ban by testing agency UKAD.
Shalom, who promoted the Khan-Brook event with Sky Sports handling the pay-per-view aspect, says he was caught off guard by the news.
According to Shalom, he was completely in the dark regarding Khan’s positive test and like most observers became aware of the situation through social media.
“I called the board [British Boxing Board of Control] today when I saw it on social media and said, ‘Do you know about this?’ and they said, ‘I only found out yesterday,’” Shalom told I News.
“We didn’t even know there was a process. We didn’t even know [Khan] failed a test. It’s completely insane. And it’s dangerous. There should be no getting out of failing a drug test. It doesn’t matter whether it’s intentional, doesn’t matter what it was. That’s it. A strict liability ban. And it needs to be governed by a world governing body not multiple different people having different opinions with different rules. It is just communication and it’s bullsh!t. I’m shocked.”
Hearn, based on his past dealing with fighters having adverse findings in drug tests, does not believe Shalom’s take on the matter.
“I’ll just keep it real. I didn’t know, but I know a lot of people involved with that fight knew [about Khan’s positive test]. And when I say ‘knew’….. there’s a difference between receiving correspondence from UKAD or knowing, hearing that it’s happened – and people from the promotion, the broadcast, certainly the British Boxing Board of Control – they knew about that situation,” Hearn explained to IFL TV.
“Look, there is a test on the night of the fight. I think the one thing here, is that I’ve been quiet about everything because it’s quite easy for me to say and pick holes in another complete mess here. Because, Ben Shalom came out and said ‘I didn’t know anything about it, it was the first time I heard it was this morning and I spoke to Robert Smith and he;s not heard about it either.’ Robert Smith knew about it months and months and months ago.
“People say ‘oh the promoter doesn’t get alerted’ – yes they do. When Dillian Whyte failed a UKAD test, [British Boxing Board of Control head] Robert Smith knew immediately and contacted me immediately to let me know. You’re telling me that the promoter of the show wouldn’t find out that a fighter on his show had tested positive in a post-fight test? All right, whatever.”
Shalom was “shocked” to hear Hearn’s statements on the subject. It appears Shalom is going to tackle with the matter with his legal team.
“I’m actually shocked to see that…. and we don’t like to go back and forth, we don’t want to send legal letters, we don’t want to threaten – but, believe me, something will be going on that. That is one of the most defamatory things I’ve ever seen, and I’m sure my broadcaster [Sky Sports] will feel the same way. One of the most defamatory things I’ve ever seen said about me. And that upsets me, because we put up with so much stuff and so many lies about ourselves, trying to be dragged into something that we’re not part of. To see something like that, that goes to the very core of our values, that’s out of order beyond all belief,” Shalom told Fight Disciples
“It’s got to the point where I believe certain people feel they can say anything and anytime, on any date, completely change every week anything – and they get away with it. People might be charismatic, people might have big platforms, people might have dominated boxing for the last 10 years, whatever it is… but it’s consistent defamatory stuff that isn’t true, it’s consistent…. not just about myself but about others and anything.”