From football managers to basketball coaches to boxing promoters. If you’re looking for a thrilling career change and love boxing, this may be just up your street. You never take anything for granted when you work as a boxing promoter, because it’s a lifestyle. Being humble is advised since becoming arrogant or haughty might come back to bother you in less than 12 rounds of gameplay.
The world of boxing business is as dynamic as the events taking on inside the ring. After a devastating loss for one of their big players, a promoter might seem to be leading the way up the ranks one minute and then everything may come crumbling down on him just as fast. A promoter may certainly face some difficulties during work hours, just as the fighters they manage.
But, what is the current state of affairs among the largest and most prosperous promoters worldwide? Let’s examine some of the best British boxing promoters currently.
What Does a Boxing Promoter Do?
A manager is not the same as a promoter. The two are very different from one another. Keeping the boxer’s best interests in mind is the manager’s role. Watching out for oneself is the promoter’s responsibility. While it doesn’t happen very frequently, such hobbies occasionally coincide with the boxer’s interests. For this reason, even when boxers are successful in the ring, you often hear of them going bankrupt; the promoter profits more from the fight’s promotion than the boxer does. It resembles the arrangement that creates a financial disadvantage for performers and their labels.
In addition to ensuring that all legal criteria are fulfilled, a boxing promoter is responsible for organising, funding, and everything else associated with their clients’ boxing events. The promoter bears all financial risk related to it, whether that means financing the event outright or finding several secondary investors to cover the costs. Furthermore, when we discuss expenditures, we include all expenses related to a fighting event, including those for the round-number girl, the referee, the plastic cups beer is supplied in, the seats at each corner of the ring, the ticket sales, advertising, licensing, and ensuring that the scales used for weigh-in are calibrated correctly.
Big-name promoters frequently outsource many of the technicalities of a fight, while smaller-scale promoters are likely in line at the state boxing commission’s office to get the permits needed for the match and measure the ring to make sure it meets regulations. Either way, though, if something goes wrong and the ambulance isn’t waiting outside the venue with precisely two paramedics who are trained, then the promoter is ultimately liable.
So, Here are The Best British Boxing Promoters
Top Rank Boxing – Bob Arum (CEO)
Arum has been a promoter for what seems like forever. The list of athletes the Hall of Famer promoter has helped advance over his seven decades in the sport is endless and includes world champions and the biggest names like Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Muhammad Ali, and many others.
The Top Rank boss worked as a lawyer before turning to boxing promotion. “Today I’m telling the truth” is a statement that has come to represent the company. Having paid the IBF to approve a fight, he has undoubtedly stirred up controversy throughout his career. The 91-year-old Bobfather doesn’t appear to be slowing down, but one may imagine that he would want to kick back and enjoy retirement.
Arum also represents the following names:
- Tyson Fury (WBC heavyweight – co-promoted with Frank Warren’s Queensberry)
- Artur Beterbiev (IBF, WBA and WBC light heavyweight)
- Janibek Alimkhanuly (IBF and WBO middleweight)
- Teofimo Lopez (WBO and Ring Magazine super lightweight)
- Shakur Stevenson (WBC lightweight)
- Emmanuel Navarrete (WBO super featherweight)
- Robesiy Ramirez (WBO featherweight)
- Luis Alberto Lopez (IBF featherweight)
- Naoya Inoue (WBC and WBO super bantamweight)
- Jason Moloney (WBO bantamweight)
- Seniesa Estrada (WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine minimumweight)
Queensberry Promotions – Frank Warren (CEO)
Warren became a Hall of Fame promoter after more than 40 years in the boxing business. He has consistently shown the ability to overcome adversity and win significant battles. There aren’t many world boxing champions that he promotes right now, aside from former world and UK heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, but Warren has over 60 fighters on his roster, many of whom are expected to be great stars.
Names that Warren represents include heavyweights Daniel Dubois, Zhilei Zhang, Joe Joyce, Moses Itauma, David Adeleye, lightweight Denys Berinchyk, featherweight Nick Ball, and super bantamweight Dennis McCann.
Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) – Al Haymon (CEO)
Even if Haymon is as difficult to find outside of the ring as Pernell Whitaker ever was, it doesn’t stop him. The former music tycoon began boxing in 2000 and established PBC a year later. Equipped with plenty of riches and an immense drive, Haymon rapidly became one of the most prosperous boxers in the world. The ongoing issue for PBC, given their enormous roster, has been the fighters’ inability to get dates.
Current world champions represented by PBC include:
- Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (undisputed super middleweight)
- Jermall Charlo (WBC middleweight)
- Jermell Charlo (WBA and WBC super welterweight)
- Jaron Ennis (IBF welterweight)
- Subriel Matias (IBF super lightweight)
- Rolando Romero (WBA super lightweight)
- Gervonta Davis (WBA lightweight)
- O’Shaquie Foster (WBC super featherweight)
- Rey Vargas (WBC featherweight)
- Fernando Martinez (IBF super flyweight)
- Deontay Wilder (Heavyweight)
- David Benavidez, David Morrell, Caleb Plant, Demetrius Andrade (Super middleweights)
- Carlos Adames (middleweight)
- Tim Tszyu (Super welterweight)
- Errol Spence Jr., Eimantas Stanionis (Welterweight)
- Brandun Lee, Mario Barrios, Alberto Puello, Frank Martin (super lightweights)
- Mark Magsayo (Featherweight)
Matchroom Boxing – Eddie Hearn (Chairman)
About ten years ago, Hearn entered the promotional industry as a sports manager and helped reshape the empire his father, Barry, had founded. The Anthony Joshua partnership turned out to be a game-changer, establishing the schedule for stadium events globally. A $1 billion contract with DAZN contributed to his success.
Hearn has been under fire from certain quarters for his readiness to take major concerts in that route because of human rights concerns in the Middle East. He was also criticised for how he handled Conor Benn’s positive test results for performance-enhancing drugs. Despite this, Matchroom Boxing is producing great results and has a huge roster of outstanding players.
Current world champions represented by Matchroom Boxing include:
- Jai Opetaia (IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight)
- Dmitry Bivol (WBA light heavyweight)
- Terri Harper (WBA super welterweight)
- Jessica McCaskill (WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine welterweight)
- Sandy Ryan (WBO welterweight)
- Regis Prograis (WBC super lightweight)
- Katie Taylor (undisputed lightweight and undisputed super lightweight)
- Joe Cordina (IBF super featherweight)
- Alycia Baumgardner (undisputed super featherweight)
- Ellie Scotney (IBF super bantamweight)
- Ebanie Bridges (IBF bantamweight)
- Nina Hughes (WBA bantamweight)
- Juan Francisco Estrada (WBC and Ring Magazine super flyweight)
- Julio Cesar Martinez (WBC flyweight)
- Sunny Edwards (IBF flyweight)
- Jesse Rodriguez (WBO flyweight)
Other notable names include heavyweights Anthony Joshua, Filip Hrgovic, and Fabio Wardley, light heavyweight Callum Smith, super middleweight Diego Pacheco, Conor Benn, super lightweight Jack Catterall, super lightweight Chantelle Cameron, super featherweight Raymond Ford, and featherweights Mauricio Lara, Josh Warrington and Hopey Price.
Golden Boy Promotions – Oscar De La Hoya (Chairman and CEO)
In 2002, De La Hoya used his skills from winning six world championships in as many categories to the promotional game. The largest pay-per-view stars in the industry, such as De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, have collaborated with the Los Angeles-based company throughout the last 20 years.
But it was a difficult pill to swallow when Canelo was defeated by Matchroom Boxing in 2020. Not only that, but GBP forced Ryan Garcia to lose by seventh-round knockout in a major match against Gervonta Davis earlier this year, and their fighter has been working hard to break out of his contract.
Current world champions represented by Golden Boy Promotions:
- Marlen Esparza (WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine flyweight)
- Arely Mucino (IBF flyweight)
- Oscar Collazo (WBO minimumweight)
- Yakosta Valle (IBF and WBO minimumweight)
Other notable names include Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, Jaime Munguia, Shane Mosley Jr, Vergil Ortiz Jr., Blair Cobbs, Ryan Garcia.
Boxxer – Ben Shalom (Founder and CEO)
In 2021, 29-year-old Shalom unexpectedly signed a big contract with Sky Sports, the largest broadcaster in the UK. This partnership was successful very quickly since certain stacked shows were shown on Sky Sports’ regular channels as well as Sky Box Office’s pay-per-view.
Representing both the Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Liam Smith bouts and Claressa Shields’ iconic battle with Savannah Marshall, the upstart promotional company places a strong focus on assembling elite British talent.
Current world champions represented by Boxxer are:
- Chris Billam-Smith (WBO cruiserweight)
- Natasha Jonas (IBF, WBO, and Ring Magazine super welterweight, IBF welterweight)
Other notable names includeMartin Bakole, Frazer Clarke, Lawrence Okolie, Richard Riakporhe, Joshua Buatsi, Ben Whittaker, Liam Smith, Adam Azim, Savannah Marshall, Caroline Dubois, Karriss Artingstall.
