Boxxer

Last updated

Boxxer
FounderBen Shalom
Website Official website

Boxxer, stylised as BOXXER, is a British professional boxing promotional company.

Contents

Founded by Ben Shalom, Boxxer began as Ultimate Boxxer, organising eight-man professional boxing elimination tournaments starting in April 2018 and preceding to host a total of six tournaments under the original name. [1] [2] In August 2020, Ultimate Boxxer rebranded to Boxxer, and announced its first signee; the winner of the Ultimate Boxxer 3 tournament, Derrick Osaze. [3] [4] The following month, and under the new branding, Boxxer announced its seventh tournament, "Boxxer Series 7", would take place in November 2020 with a new four-man elimination format. [5]

In June 2021, it was announced that Boxxer had signed a four-year deal with Sky Sports. [6] [7] In September, Boxxer revealed their roster of fighters, including Hughie Fury, Savannah Marshall and Caroline Dubois, as well as co-promotional deals with Claressa Shields and Chris Eubank Jr. A co-promotional deal was also made with Bob Arum's Top Rank in regards to the world title fight between Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall. Boxxer's first event on Sky Sports was a co-promotion with Wasserman Boxing, featuring Eubank Jr. on 2 October 2021. [8] [9]

The most notable, high profile event associated with Boxxer was between domestic rivals Amir Khan Vs Kell Brook on 19 February 2022.

Boxxer Series

Under the name Ultimate Boxxer, the tournament originally featured eight fighters from a given weight competing in 3 x 3 minute rounds in one night, with the winner of the inaugural tournament being awarded £16,000 and a golden robe. [10] [11]

Ultimate Boxxer I

The inaugural tournament was held in the welterweight division and took place on 27 April 2018 at the Manchester Arena. The quarter-finals were streamed live on UNILAD's Facebook page while the semi-finals were and final were aired on 5Spike. The competitors were Andy Kremner (9–0), Isaac Macleod (9–0), Jimmy Cooper (6–0–1), Drew Brown (7–0), Ben Eland (4–0–1), Tom Young (4–0), Kaisee Benjamin (4–0), and Sam Evans (8–0–1). Brown emerged victorious after defeating Young in the final. [11] [12]

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 
 
Drew BrownTKO1
 
 
Jimmy Cooper
 
Drew BrownSD
 
 
Sam Evans
 
Sam EvansUD
 
 
 
Kaisee Benjamin
 
Drew BrownUD
 
 
Tom Young
 
Tom YoungUD
 
 
Ben Eland
 
Tom YoungTKO1
 
 
Isaac Macleod
 
Isaac MacleodSD
 
 
Andy Kremner
 

Ultimate Boxxer II

The second edition was held in the light-heavyweight division and took place on 2 November 2018 at the indigo at The O2. The prize money was increased to £50,000 with the winner also getting a chance to fight in an eliminator for the British title. The competitors were Joel McIntyre (17–2), Darrell Church (7–2–1), Sam Horsfall (2–1), Dec Spelman (12–1), Shakan Pitters (7–0), Sam Smith (4–1), Jordan Joseph (7–2–1), and Georgii Bacon (1–1), who was a late replacement for John McCallum. Pitters emerged victorious after defeating Spelmen in the final. [13] [14] [15]

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 
 
Joel McIntyreUD
 
 
Darrell Church
 
Joel McIntyre
 
 
Dec SpelmanMD
 
Dec SpelmanTKO2
 
 
 
Sam Horsfall
 
Dec Spelman
 
 
Shakan PittersUD
 
Shakan Pitters UD
 
 
Sam Smith
 
Shakan PittersKO2
 
 
Georgii Bacon
 
Georgii BaconSD
 
 
Jordan Joseph
 

Ultimate Boxxer III

Ultimate Boxxer III was held in the middleweight division and took place on 2 May 2019 at the indigo at The O2. The competitors were Tey Lynn-Jones (11–1), Kaan Hawes (4–0–1), Sean Phillips (5–0–1), Grant Dennis (12–1), Kieron Conway (9–0), Josh Groombridge (7–1), Derrick Osaze (6–0) and Joe Hurn (10–0–1). Osaze emerged victorious after defeating Dennis in the final. [16] [17]

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 
 
Kieron Conway UD
 
 
Kaan Hawes
 
Kieron Conway
 
 
Derrick OsazeSD
 
Derrick Osaze UD
 
 
 
Tey Lynn-Jones
 
Derrick OsazeMD
 
 
Grant Dennis
 
Sean PhillipsTKO1
 
 
Josh Groombridge
 
Sean PhillipsUD
 
 
Grant Dennis
 
Grant DennisTKO3
 
 
Joe Hurn
 

Ultimate Boxxer IV

The fourth edition was held in the cruiserweight division and took place on 19 July 2019 at the Planet ice Arena in Altrincham. The competitors were Damian Chambers (7–0), Matt Sen (5–1), Mikael Lawal (9–0), Antony Woolery (1–0), Dan Cooper (7–0–1), David Jamieson (4–0), Tony Conquest (18–3) and Rhasian Earlington (5–0). Lawal emerged victorious after defeating Chambers in the final. [18] [19]

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 
 
Mikael LawalMD
 
 
Antony Woolery
 
Mikael LawalSD
 
 
David Jamieson
 
David JamiesonSD
 
 
Dan Cooper
 
Mikael LawalTKO1
 
 
Damian Chambers
 
Rhasian EarlingtonKO1
 
 
Tony Conquest
 
Rhasian Earlington
 
 
Damian ChambersUD
 
Damian ChambersTKO1
 
 
Matt Sen
 

Ultimate Boxxer V

The fifth edition was held in the light-middleweight division and took place on 20 September 2019 at the indigo at The O2 in London, and was aired live on BT Sport. The competitors were Kingsley Egbunike (4–0), Lenny Fuller (6–0), Kaan Hawes (5–1–1), Joshua Ejakpovi (13–1), Lewis Syrett (6–0), Sean Robinson (9–0), Ish O'Connor (2–0) and Steven Donnelly (7–0). Donnelly emerged victorious after defeating Fuller in the final. [20] [21]

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 
 
Lenny FullerTKO1
 
 
Kingsley Egbunike
 
Lenny FullerUD
 
 
Joshua Ejakpovi
 
Joshua EpakjoviUD
 
 
Kaan Hawes
 
Lenny Fuller
 
 
Steven DonnellyTKO2
 
Sean RobinsonUD
 
 
Lewis Syrett
 
Sean Robinson
 
 
Steven DonnellyUD
 
Steven DonnellyTKO1
 
 
Ish O'Connor
 

Ultimate Boxxer VI

The sixth edition was held in the heavyweight division and took place on 13 December 2019 at the Planet Ice Arena in Manchester. The participants were Nick Webb (13–2), Sean Turner (12–3), Mark Bennett (5–0), Jonathan Palata (7–0), Josh Sandland (4–1–1), Jay McFarlane (10–4), Kamil Sokolowski (7–15–2) and Chris Healey (8–6). Webb emerged victorious after defeating Bennett in the final. [22] [23]

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 
 
Mark BennettSD
 
 
Jay McFarlane
 
Mark BennettUD
 
 
Josh Sandland
 
Josh SandlandUD
 
 
Kamil Sokolowski
 
Mark Bennett
 
 
Nick WebbUD
 
Chris Healey
 
 
Nick WebbSD
 
Nick WebbUD
 
 
Danny Whitaker
 
Danny WhitakerUD
 
 
Jonathan Palata
 

Boxxer VII

The seventh edition of the tournament, now renamed Boxxer, employed a new four-man format. Taking place in the super-middleweight division, the event took place on 10 November 2020 at the BT Sport Studios in London. The participants were Zak Chelli (7–1–1), Harry Woods (4–0), Mike McGoldrick (6–0) and Vladimir Georgiev (4–0). Georgiev was brought in as a late replacement after Ben Ridings tested positive for COVID-19. Chelli emerged victorious after defeating McGoldrick in the final. [24] [25] [26]

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
 
 
Mike McGoldrickUD
 
 
Harry Woods
 
Mike McGoldrick
 
 
Zak ChelliTKO2
 
Zak ChelliUD
 
 
Vladimir Georgiev
 

Current boxers

Boxer [9] NationalityWeight
Dan Azeez Flag of England.svg English Light-heavyweight
Adam Azim Flag of England.svg English Lightweight
Hassan Azim Flag of England.svg English Light-welterweight
Joshua Buatsi Flag of England.svg EnglishLight-heavyweight
Zak Chelli Flag of England.svg EnglishSuper-middleweight
Frazer Clarke Flag of England.svg EnglishHeavyweight
Caroline Dubois Flag of England.svg EnglishLightweight
Scott Forrest Flag of Scotland.svg Scottish Cruiserweight
Hughie Fury Flag of England.svg EnglishHeavyweight
Cori Gibbs Flag of England.svg EnglishLightweight
April Hunter Flag of England.svg EnglishWelterweight
Natasha Jonas Flag of England.svg EnglishSuper-lightweight
Ebonie Jones Flag of England.svg English Bantamweight
Savannah Marshall Flag of England.svg EnglishMiddleweight
Florian Marku Flag of Albania.svg Albania Welterweight
Georgia O'Connor Flag of England.svg England Light-middleweight
Joe Pigford Flag of England.svg EnglishSuper-middleweight
Brad Rea Flag of England.svg EnglishMiddleweight
Richard Riakporhe Flag of England.svg EnglishCruiserweight
Dylan Cheema Flag of England.svg EnglishLightweight
Viddal Riley Flag of England.svg EnglishCruiserweight
Shakiel Thompson Flag of England.svg EnglishMiddleweight
Jeamie 'TVK' Tshikeva Flag of England.svg EnglishHeavyweight
Anthony Yarde Flag of England.svg EnglishLight-Heavyweight

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Froch</span> English boxer

Carl Martin Froch, is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2014, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the World Boxing Council (WBC) title twice between 2008 and 2011, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title from 2012 to 2015, and the World Boxing Association (WBA) title between 2013 and 2015. At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles between 2004 and 2008, and won the Lonsdale Belt in 2006. As an amateur, in the middleweight division, Froch won a bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships, and the ABA title twice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vijender Singh</span> Indian boxer

Vijender Singh Beniwal is an Indian professional boxer and politician of Bharatiya Janata Party. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal. He also won bronze medals at the 2009 World Championships and the 2010 Commonwealth Games, as well as silver medals at the 2006 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, all in the middleweight division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Ogogo</span> English boxer and professional wrestler

Anthony Osejua Ojo Ogogo is an English professional wrestler and former professional boxer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of Shane Taylor Promotions. He also competes in his native England for Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro). As a boxer, he competed from 2013 to 2016 as a professional, and won a bronze medal in the middleweight division at the 2012 Olympics as an amateur. In 2015, Ogogo participated in the 13th series of Strictly Come Dancing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oleksandr Usyk</span> Ukrainian boxer (born 1987)

Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held the undisputed championship in two weight classes, at cruiserweight and heavyweight, and reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from May to June 2024. He has also held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) title since 2021, and the Ring magazine title since 2022.

John Wayne "The Gunslinger" Parr, also known as JWP, is a retired Australian Muay Thai fighter, kickboxer and boxer, fighting out of Boonchu Gym in Gold Coast, Queensland. He is a former 10-times World Champion and was the runner up on The Contender Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Joe Saunders</span> British boxer

Billy Joe Saunders is a British professional boxer. He is the first fighter from the Travelling community to win world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO middleweight title from 2015 to 2018 and the WBO super-middleweight title from 2019 to 2021. At regional level, he held the European, British, and Commonwealth middleweight titles between 2012 and 2015. Saunders represented Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics as an amateur, reaching the second round of the welterweight bracket. In the same year, he won gold at the EU Championships.

Badou Jack is a Swedish professional boxer. He has held world titles in three weight classes, including the WBC super-middleweight title from 2015 to 2017, the WBA (Regular) light-heavyweight title in 2017, and the WBC cruiserweight title in 2023. As an amateur, he represented Gambia at the 2008 Olympics, reaching the first round of the middleweight bracket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Eubank Jr</span> British professional boxer (born 1989)

Christopher Livingstone Eubank Jr. is a British professional boxer. He has held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) middleweight title since October 2024. Previously, he held the World Boxing Association (WBA) interim middleweight title twice between 2015 and 2021. He also held the (IBO) super-middleweight title twice between 2017 and 2019. At regional level, he held the British middleweight title in 2016. He is the son of former two-division world champion boxer, Chris Eubank.

The Prizefighter series was a professional boxing tournament created by boxing promoter Barry Hearn and aired on Sky Sports. The format has an initial eight fighters, who compete in four quarter-finals of 3 x 3 minute rounds followed by two semi-finals and one final all on the same night. The total prize money of the tournament is £80,000 with the winner of the tournament taking home £32,000, a figure that has increased from the initial top prize of £25,000 when the tournament first aired in April 2008. There have been 34 Prizefighter tournaments so far featuring 14 different weight divisions. The last tournament was held in 2015.

Martin Murray is a British former professional boxer who competed 2007 to 2020. He held the WBA interim middleweight title from 2011 to 2014, the British and Commonwealth middleweight titles between 2010 and 2012, and challenged five times for a world title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Groves (boxer)</span> British boxer

George Groves is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2008 to 2018. He held the WBA (Super) super-middleweight title from 2017 to 2018. At regional level, he held multiple super-middleweight titles, including the European, British, and Commonwealth titles between 2010 and 2014. As an amateur, Groves won the ABA middleweight title twice in 2007 and 2008.

Marcello 'Cello' Renda is an English former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2018. He competed in two editions of the middleweight Prizefighter series tournament, reaching the finals in the 4th edition of the series in 2008 as well as the 35th and final edition in 2015.

Robert Brant is an American professional boxer who held the WBA (Regular) middleweight title from 2018 to 2019.

Callum John Smith is an English professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) and Ring magazine super-middleweight titles from 2018 to 2020. At regional level, he held the British and European super-middleweight titles between 2015 and 2017. In 2018 he won the World Boxing Super Series super-middleweight tournament, winning the Muhammad Ali trophy in the process. He is the youngest of the Smith brothers—Paul, Stephen, and Liam—all of whom are professional boxers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Pereira</span> Brazilian kickboxer and mixed martial artist (born 1987)

Alex Sandro Silva Pereira is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and a former UFC Middleweight Champion. As of 2 July 2024, he is #2 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.

Avni Yıldırım is a Turkish professional boxer. He challenged for the WBC super-middleweight title in 2019, and the WBA (Super), WBC, and Ring magazine super-middleweight titles in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Adesanya</span> Nigerian and New Zealand mixed martial artist (born 1989)

Israel Mobolaji Temitayo Odunayo Oluwafemi Owolabi Adesanya is a Nigerian-New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, former kickboxer and boxer. As a mixed martial artist, he currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Middleweight Champion. In kickboxing, he is a former Glory Middleweight Championship title challenger. As of 23 January 2024, he is #2 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derrick Osaze</span> British boxer

Derrick Osazemwinde is a British professional boxer. He became Ultimate Boxxer III middleweight champion in 2019.

Shakan Pitters is an English professional boxer who held the British light-heavyweight title in 2020.

Kieron Conway is an English professional boxer who challenged for the British super-welterweight title in 2019.

References

  1. Bunce, Steve (5 February 2018). "Ultimate Boxxer offers a break from tradition and the chance to create an exciting new brand". The Independent . Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  2. "Events". Boxxer. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  3. Khan, Daxx. "Ultimate Boxxer Reveals New Brand Name And New Signing". Billy C Boxing. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  4. "Welcome to the Team: Derrick Osaze". Boxxer. 11 August 2020. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  5. "Ultimate Boxxer 7 presents brand-new four man knockout competition in November". British Boxing News. 1 October 2020. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  6. "Sky Sports Finalizes Content Partnerships With Top Rank, BOXXER - Boxing News". Boxing Scene. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  7. "Sky Sports announces new partnerships with Top Rank and BOXXER until 2025". Sky Sports . 12 June 2021. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  8. "BOXXER announce their new signings: Chris Eubank Jr, Lewis Ritson, Caroline Dubois and more". British Boxing News. 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  9. 1 2 "BOXXER unveils new signings to usher in exciting new era on Sky Sports". BOXXER. 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  10. Rathborn, Jack (29 April 2018). "Why Ultimate Boxxer could be boxing's answer to discovering Jamie Vardy". Daily Mirror . Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  11. 1 2 "What is Ultimate Boxxer? - Boxing News". Boxing News Online. 26 April 2018. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  12. "Ultimate Boxxer 1". Boxxer. 21 August 2020. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  13. "Ultimate Boxxer II". The Sweet Science. 2 November 2018. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  14. Siza, Joseph (3 November 2018). "Shakan Pitters wins Ultimate Boxxer II – Full show report". British Boxing News. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  15. "Ultimate Boxxer 2". Boxxer. 22 August 2020. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  16. Rickson, Tim (18 February 2019). "Ultimate Boxxer 3 line-up revealed". British Boxing News. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  17. "Ultimate Boxxer 3". Boxxer. 22 August 2020. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  18. Rickson, Tim (18 July 2019). "Ultimate Boxxer 4 fight time, date, TV channel, undercard, schedule, venue, betting odds and live stream details". British Boxing News. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  19. "Mikael Lawal impresses with standout Ultimate Boxxer IV triumph". World Boxing News. 25 July 2019. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  20. Powers, Adam (20 September 2019). "Boxing tonight: Ultimate Boxxer 5 schedule, format, live stream, fight times, undercard". Daily Express . Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  21. "Donnelly wins Ultimate Boxxer event". BBC Sport . 21 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  22. "Ultimate Boxxer 6 heavyweights line-up revealed". British Boxing News. 19 October 2019. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  23. Whittle, Andy (16 December 2019). "Nick Webb gets his career back on track - Boxing News". Boxing News Online. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  24. "Ultimate Boxxer 7 super-middleweights – meet the contestants". British Boxing News. 6 November 2020. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  25. Lord, Adam (9 November 2020). "Bury boxer ruled out of TV fight night after testing positive for Covid-19". Bury Times. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  26. Lewis, Ron (10 November 2020). "Zak Chelli Wins BOXXER Tournament at BT Sport Studios in London". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 22 September 2021.