Boxing’s landscape has become almost unrecognisable over the last year, its shifting sands sieving the biggest fights to, well, the sands of Saudi Arabia. But the Gulf state and its deep reserves of money are not just hosting the biggest fights, they are creating them: the kinds of match-ups that long eluded fans. Undisputed title fights between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, and Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev stand out, topping cards of unprecedented depths: events with world champions and renowned names in almost every bout. Yet the glimmer of title belts can distract.
Saudi’s entry into boxing is not without its issues, the most pressing of which is its link to accusations of sportswashing. And for British fans particularly, the growth of boxing in Saudi is creating a dearth of boxing back home.
Yes, you can still find quality domestic shows, but they are dwindling in number, so up-and-coming boxers are at risk of slipping between the cracks: not established enough to feature on a Riyadh Season card (one or two of which may take place in the UK each year, admittedly), but too promising to step out on a traditional ‘small-hall’ show.
And so Huge Boxing was born, fathered by Charlie Sims. Those entrenched in the sport will know him as the son of Tony Sims, one of the country’s leading boxing coaches. Others will know him from appearances on The Only Way Is Essex, which led him to produce House Of Sims. In short, the 32-year-old has straddled the worlds of boxing and entertainment for some time, and now he is keen to bring them together.
Huge Boxing is a new promotion with ties to Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom, created to offer a platform to British prospects and help tell their stories in ways that are often lacking in this sport. On Saturday, Huge stages its first show, taking over the historic York Hall as George Liddard headlines – fighting for a title for the first time – with support from Jimmy Sains, Maisey Rose Courtney, Shannon Ryan, Paddy Donovan and more. The show is named Origins, with Destiny and Legacy events planned to complete the trilogy in 2025.
“I think Saudi has been amazing for the top end of boxing,” Sims tells The Independent. “It’s helped put some fights together that we never really had the money to do [as a sport]. It’s kind of stopped the politics. But the biggest issue we have now is development.
“If you look at it from a commercial point of view, Matchroom and Queensberry would have had deals with DAZN and TNT for, let’s say, 15 dates a year. Now with the Saudis, because they’re so regular and consistent with what they’re doing, they’re wanting those shows and slots. Matchroom and Queensberry are having to give some away, and it’s kind of slowed down the development for younger fighters – or the ones who haven’t hit contendership yet.
“If you’re a champion or contender, you want to be looking at Saudi; if you’re just underneath that bracket, it’s really slow. What we’re doing is bridging the gap, keeping our guys active, giving them the platform to develop. The gap between a small-hall event and a Matchroom or Queensberry show is usually too big. Without shows like ours, the next generation can’t come through. What’s gonna happen once they’ve exhausted all the big fighters in Saudi? No one else is being developed.
“And timeline-wise, before we came along, Maisey Rose and Shannon fought this summer, and they wouldn’t have fought again until February or March.” In fact, Maisey Rose and Shannon each suffered their first professional defeat last time out, and in boxing, platforms to bounce back can be hard to find. That is another area where Huge aims to help.
“I want to see a little bit more support for the people who rolled the dice in a close fight, maybe could’ve won on a different night, [but lost],” Sims says. “How do they find their way back? But storytelling has to come in; what are we following them back for? These people, regardless of what level they’re at, have goals and dreams. It’s not always to be a world champion: sometimes it’s to provide for their family.”
One word in there stands out. More so than as a promoter, the son of a boxing coach, or a media personality, Sims sees himself as a storyteller.
“Apart from the brilliant Beterbiev vs Bivol promo video, I couldn’t tell you anything about the build-up to the event,” Sims says of October’s undisputed light-heavyweight title fight in Riyadh. “And on a personal level, I couldn’t tell you anything about those fighters. We have to spend money investing in storytelling, to bring people on board.
“We want to tell stories, we want to encourage fighters to tell their stories. We’re giving younger boxers a platform to share their voice. It’s quite surprising how nervous they are in front of cameras, how uncomfortable they are in media situations. They would usually only get to that point on the bigger shows, but we’re giving them the training so they’re ready for those shows. ‘This is your time, slow it down, take your time in telling your story. No one’s in a rush. The only one who knows your story is you.’”
Huge’s plan, now, is to ensure everyone else knows those stories.
