Saudi Arabian sports events organisation Riyadh Season launched a major new partnership with British boxing promotion BOXXER.
The first Riyadh Season-headlined BOXXER show, ‘High Voltage’, was headlined last Saturday (19 October) by a Super Lightweight bout between Adam Azim and Ohara Davies, in which Azim stopped his opponent in the 8th round.
The event at the Copperbox Arena in London served as the first of many boxing cards that BOXXER and Riyadh Season will work together on in the UK and Ireland, including integrations into pre-promotional activity to the build-up of every show.
Ben Shalom, Founder & CEO of BOXXER, said: “We are honoured to partner with Riyadh Season and support His Excellency Turki Alashikh’s vision for boxing. Last Saturday’s opening show was nothing short of spectacular and we look forward to shining a bright light on all of the upcoming events.
“There’s much more to come from BOXXER and Riyadh Season and we look forward to seeing what the future holds.”
Saudi’s influence on boxing over the course of the last several years can not be overstated, helping to sign and host some of the sport’s major boxing fights and events.
Most recently, Riyadh Season sponsored the world light-heavyweight unification bout between winner Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol in Saudi Arabia, and will host the upcoming heavyweight world title fight rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury.
Saudi Arabia has also held strong links with British boxing promoters through its rise in the sport. Riyadh Season has headlined events with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and Frank Warren’s Queensbury Promotions, and now adds Shalom’s BOXXER to its list of UK boxing promotions.
BOXXER aims to leverage the backing of Riyadh Season to help grow its coverage across the world, attain new audiences in the UK and Ireland and maintain its media coverage in which it broadcasts to over 150 countries worldwide.
Speaking to Insider Sport this year, Shalom spoke on Saudi Arabia’s influence on boxing and recognised the value it has brought to the sport as a whole.
He said: “What Saudi Arabia has done in the international setting and made fights that we didn’t know were possible, bringing people together, you have to say that is extremely good for the sport and you have to commend them for that but boxing is a global sport and it has to be healthy everywhere.”
