Ben Shalom Wants Hamzah Sheeraz vs Callum Simpson — And Says It's Easy to Make

Ben Shalom has a plan for Hamzah Sheeraz, and it doesn't involve another trip to Saudi Arabia. The Boxxer promoter told iFL TV he's fully committed to putting the WBO super middleweight champion in with fellow Brit Callum Simpson, calling it a fight that can be made without much fuss. Sheeraz sits at 23-0-1 with 19 knockouts, and he's coming off a second-round stoppage of Alem Begic.

Shalom's logic is about business as much as boxing. Sheeraz has fought plenty on the big Riyadh cards, but he's never actually sold out an arena on his own name — and the promoter thinks a domestic dust-up with Simpson is exactly the fight that changes that. Shalom said he'd pursue it 100 percent and expects it to be a phenomenal night.

Why This One Makes Sense

The appeal here isn't complicated. Sheeraz needs a signature domestic event, the kind of fight that turns a solid CV into a genuine box-office draw at home. A meeting with Simpson gives him a name British fans recognise and a reason to buy tickets. Shalom framed it as the arena-seller Sheeraz has been missing.

There's a caveat, though, and Shalom didn't dodge it. He admitted ticket sales are tough right now, saying he'd only heard secondhand about how Simpson's recent weekend win landed with the public. Selling an arena is one thing on paper; it's another when the market's soft. Still, the promoter seems confident the demand is there for an all-British 168-pound scrap.

The Sam Hickey Mess

Shalom also touched on the ongoing situation with Sam Hickey, and the mood was noticeably less upbeat. He insisted Hickey remains a Boxxer fighter under a long-term deal, and suggested the courts may end up involved unless someone acts sensibly. He said he had nothing personal against Hickey but was genuinely bemused by the whole thing.

For now, the Simpson fight is the headline Shalom wants to write. If it lands, Sheeraz finally gets the home stage his record deserves. If ticket sales don't cooperate, an easy-to-make fight can get complicated in a hurry — but that's a problem for another press conference.