Finally, boxing events in Britain can almost take place following the British Boxing Board of Control’s decision to cancel all shows at the start of 2022.
The middleweight grudge match between Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Williams this coming Saturday kicks off what could be another huge year for boxing on British shores.
Many see this fight as a battle between the number one and number two British middleweight fighters with the winner looking to push on for a world title.
Speaking to DAZN News in an exclusive interview, Boxxer’s Ben Shalom expressed his desire to work with the winner of Eubank Jr vs. Williams and help secure a world title shot.
“Chris Eubank has to go for world titles after that, we were very interested in what’s going on with Golovkin vs. Morata, either one of those are great opponents for Chris,” Shalom said.
“It’s difficult because although a lot is said about Chris Eubank Jr, he is an avoided fighter, because he’s not a world champion, it’s quite hard to get the world champions to come over and defend in the UK against him. That is the plan next.
“The middleweight division is flying, it’s got the biggest names in boxing at the moment, to have this as a number one v number two in Britain is going to be special and it’s going to do a lot for both of them.”
It’s not been a smooth journey to this fight, however. Originally scheduled for December 11th last year, Eubank Jr vs. Williams got postponed after the Welshman picked up a shoulder injury.
The clash was then pushed back January 29th, cue another postponement. This time it was due to the British Boxing Board of Control’s decision to cancel all shows in January. As a result, Eubank Jr vs. Williams is set to take place on February 5th.
Reflecting on the lack of boxing in January, Shalom was shocked by the board’s decision and was also worried the fight would have to move away from Cardiff with uncertainty surrounding the Welsh government and the policy when it came to staging a boxing event with a sell-out crowd at the Motorpoint Arena.
“When it first happened, I was a bit shocked, the announcement was on New Year’s Day from the board, we didn’t really know what the Welsh government were going to do at that point,” Shalom explained.
“We would have loved to get going in January, but we’ve got three massive events close together in February, we’ve just got to be grateful that boxing is back, and we were nervous about which way the Welsh government were going.
“The Scottish government came out and allowed fans in, it put a lot of pressure on Wales, so it would’ve been a shame if we had to move it across the border. I think Welsh boxing needs attention, it’s struggled for big events since the Calzaghe days.
“This is a massive event for Cardiff, a massive event for Welsh boxing, the card’s going to show that as well. We’ve got Reece Edwards who’s a big Welsh prospect on the card.
“For Liam Williams to bring Chris Eubank Jr to his hometown in front of what is going to be some crazy fans in the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena.”