Eddie Hearn has doubled down amid his ongoing feud with Ben Shalom. The two boxing promoters have been clashing all week ahead of Anthony Joshua’s IBF heavyweight world title fight with Daniel Dubois, which takes place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night.

On Thursday, Hearn and Shalom were filmed having a heated discussion while undercard fighters Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson faced off at a press conference. According to Shalom, he made a joke about the Matchroom Boxing chief being on stage for a staredown that didn’t feature anyone from his roster.

The BOXXER head claimed Hearn didn’t take it well and threatened to assault him – although exactly what was said couldn’t be heard in viral footage of the incident. “He said he was going to knock me out,” Shalom told IFL TV.

“I said, as a joke, ‘I didn’t realise this was your fight’ or something like that. It was literally a joke, but he wasn’t too happy. I’m not playing that game. I’m not sinking to those levels. I’m not here to fight. To be threatened to be knocked out by a guy who is nearly 50 was an interesting one.”

Hearn later admitted that he did threaten to KO Shalom – but the 45-year-old insisted that he was joking too before offering offered insincere apology. Joshua’s promoter told IFL TV in a separate interview: “He came up to me and he said, ‘Why are you up here for this fight?’ And I said, ‘I'll knock you out!’

“And I felt really bad and I do have to apologise to him because it was when he started quivering and he went white like Casper the Ghost that I actually felt terrible. And as he was just joking to me, it was just a throwaway line. He is just learning, and if he thinks that was serious I do apologise because I felt bad after and I saw his face.”

Hearn pretended to take a phone call as he mocked Shalom’s reaction to his threat. He added: “Hello, is that the Guildhall? Yeah, you had a press conference last night. Is that lost and found? You haven't found Ben Shalom's a*******, have you? Floating around Guildhall anywhere. If you find it, can you let me know? Cheers, thanks. He did a jokey comment, I had a little joke. Sorry if he took it seriously. I actually do feel bad because his lip was quivering and all over the gaff.”

The Origins of the Feud

The heated exchange between Hearn and Shalom is just the latest chapter in a long-running feud between the two promoters. The animosity between the two began earlier this year when Shalom claimed that he found Hearn hard to work with while suggesting that his Boxxer promotion could threaten Matchroom in terms of big-name fights. Speaking with Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour, Shalom said: “Ultimately, I get it. We’re like the young, annoying little s*** that has broken into the industry and is doing well and is the master of great stable and probably has some of the future stars in the sport, particularly in this country.”

He went on: “I’d love for them to take a different approach and not see it as they do and I’d love in the future to be able to work with them - they’re probably the only promoters we’ve found difficult to work with. But I do get it. It’s an industry they have run and been involved with for decades and in any world in any industry you expect the same.

“If I was going to start up a computer business to rival Apple I’m sure they’d be met with the same disdain at the start so I get that and it’s just something we have to come through. You’ve got to have a thick skin in this game and that’s what this is and we’ll continue to grow and focus on what we do.”

But the 45-year-old responded soon after explaining that Shalom sees himself as a victim and that he has little desire to work with his rival promotions. He also claimed that Shalom pulled Frazer Clarke from a fight with Fabio Wardley last year. Hearn said: “You can talk about, ‘We’re a victim of the game, they don’t wanna work with us,’ it’s absolute rubbish. When Fabio Wardley vs Frazer Clarke got ordered, they pulled out.

“They’ve just done it again with Adam Azim vs Dalton Smith. Jai Opetaia vs Richard Riakporhe, they pulled out. Caroline Dubois vs Beatriz Ferreira, they pulled out. Now Chev Clarke is mandatory for Isaac Chamberlain and they won’t even mention his name. You’re seeing the benefit to boxing of Matchroom and Queensberry working together. Five brilliant fights there and every one they haven’t been willing.”

Hearn and Warren: A Different Dynamic

While Hearn and Shalom continue to clash, the Matchroom Boxing head and Queensberry head Frank Warren appear to have put their own rivalry under the rug as of recent. Videos circulating of the two being incredibly friendly with one another ahead of AJ’s showdown with DDD for the IBF heavyweight strap. IFL TV conducted an interview with Hearn and Warren, asking the two if they would ever do a five vs five show with Shalom and BOXERR. The interviewer turned to Warren first, with the stone-faced promoter quipping: “Has he got five fighters that merit being in a five v five?”

When the same question was put to Hearn, he explained: “I’m not interested in doing a five v five because he doesn’t want to put them in,” before Warren interjected: “He pulls them out of purse bids all the time.” Calculating his words, Hearn went on: “When you interview me and him, it’s a bit like a pound for pound great fighting a Hungarian journeyman, do you know what I mean?

“It’s not fair. So you’ve got to stop doing it, but when I put it on him about Dalton Smith and Adam Azim, her wouldn’t even agree that fight. He wouldn’t agree Beatrice Ferreira against Caroline Dubois, he won’t agree [Chris] Billam-Smith against [Jai] Opetaia they just wanna swerve that. What fights can we make?”

Hearn then compared Shalom’s promoting capabilities against Warren’s, explaining “you should see the line-ups we’re talking about” when Matchroom and Queensberry meet with one another. He added: “We wanna roll the dice for our guys. We’re not scared our broadcaster losing a fighter or getting him beat. We just wanna give the fans the best fights.”

A Tense Face-Off at the Press Conference

Tensions between Shalom and Hearn began to bubble over at the undercard face offs for Joshua’s IBF title fight with Dubois earlier this week. A video is circulating showing Hearn and Shalom getting into a war with words on stage at the Guildhall as Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson prepared to face off. Speaking on the incident, Shalom later revealed to IFL TV: “He said he was gonna knock me out. I thought he wasn’t rattled? I said as a joke, ‘I didn’t realise this was your fight,’ during Joshua Buatsi’s face-off. It was literally a joke. But yeah he wasn’t too happy… To be threatened to be knocked out by a guy who’s nearly 50 was an interesting one.”

Hearn, meanwhile played the scenario off as a joke, telling Boxing Social: “I think it was a bit of a joke really. He just came up and said ‘What are you doing in this picture?’ and I said ‘I’ll knock you out’ - something like that. I felt bad because he froze like a ghost and now he’s doing all these interviews saying he got threatened.

“He obviously comes from a different world. I think he’s very excitable, he’s learning in the game and I wish him all the best but I think he said he was joking at his comments, so was I.” He added: “I’ve said before, I have no problem working with these guys - all I just said is that when he’s actually ready to make fights we maybe can make fights.”

The Fallout

The incident has sparked a lot of debate in the boxing world, with some people siding with Hearn and others siding with Shalom. It remains to be seen what the long-term impact of the altercation will be on the relationship between the two promoters. However, one thing is for sure: the rivalry between Matchroom Boxing and BOXXER is far from over.

A Joke Gone Wrong

Hearn’s decision to mock Shalom’s reaction to his threat has only fueled the fire. The Matchroom boss took a break from an interview with That Prize Guy the day after the press conference to seemingly take a phone call. Holding his phone to his ear, the Matchroom boss said: “Hello. Yeah is that the Guildhall? Yeah you had a press conference last night...is that lost and found?

“Yeah, you haven't found Ben Shalom's a***hole floating around Guild Hall anywhere? Yeah, if you find it can you let me know? Cheers, thanks.” The fierce rivalry between the two promoters shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Questions of Truth and Transparency

Hearn was also asked about his knock out comments to Shalom by IFL TV, with the outlet asking for clarity on the conversation. However, the promoter had a question of his own to hit IFL with before he answered. He said: “Before I answer the question, I’ll ask you a question.

“Has Ben Shalom contacted you to take down video interviews of you with anybody else during this week?” To which, the interviewer responded: “I don’t know, I’m not going to make a comment on that.” Hearn persisted: “If you can answer the question, I’ll answer your question,” but the interviewer explained that he “genuinely” didn’t know.

Hearn clapped back: “The answer is yes, 100 per cent categorically. So I can’t remember what was said on the stage. I’ve no idea. Unfortunately, because you can’t confirm what everybody knows - that Ben Shalom is asking IFL to take down interviews consistently - I don’t really know why I should do an interview with you.

“If you’re not going to be a correct media outlet and actually tell him ‘No when we do an interview...’. Because your boss will confirm that for 16 years I’ve never asked for one interview to be pulled down. Yet this guy does it again, and again, and again - and no one knows about it.

“So I’m telling the British public now that this guy - after nearly every interview - phones you up and gets you to remove the interview. So when you wanna talk about truth, we’ll drop some serious f***ing truth bombs if we need to. Thank you, next question.”

Warren Weighs in

Warren was also asked by the media what he made of Hearn’s confrontation with Shalom at Guildhall, repeatedly firing back “who?” in response. Hearn added: “If there was a confrontation, he would know about it. He was standing next to me the whole time.”

Warren then asked: “What’s all that about?” before it was explained that there was a video online of Hearn and Shalom talking at the pre-fight face offs. The 72-year-old then comically added: “Well I know who I’d have my money on,” before cracking a smile and jesting: “I can’t imagine anybody falling out with him. What’s going on? Genuine fella.”

The Rivalry Continues

It seems clear that the rivalry between Hearn and Shalom is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Both men are ambitious and determined to succeed in the boxing world, and they are not afraid to let their feelings be known. With both men having fighters on the bill for the Joshua-Dubois fight, it will be interesting to see if they can keep their personal feelings in check and put on a professional show for the fans. While the undercard may see some fireworks, the main event remains a battle between heavyweight titans Joshua and Dubois, who are both hungry to reclaim the IBF heavyweight strap.

Joshua Back at Wembley

The highly anticipated fight is taking place at Wembley Stadium, with the two British fighters set to go head-to-head in front of a record crowd of 96,000 fans. This will be the first time that Joshua has fought at Wembley Stadium since his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko in 2018.

A New Chapter for Joshua

This fight is a crucial one for Joshua, who is looking to get back on track after losing his last two fights. With a win over Dubois, he could potentially set himself up for a rematch against Tyson Fury, which is a fight that fans have been clamoring for.

The Future of Heavyweight Boxing

This fight has the potential to be a classic. Both fighters are in their prime, and they are both desperate to win. The winner of this fight could be set to become the dominant force in heavyweight boxing. This fight is more than just a clash of styles; it’s a battle of egos and a struggle for supremacy.

A Night to Remember

This fight is sure to be a memorable one, and it is a must-watch for any boxing fan. With the future of heavyweight boxing on the line, the stage is set for a clash of titans. Be there for the fight that will redefine boxing history.