The business side of boxing changes as often as the action inside the ring. One minute a promoter appears to be leading the way, and the next a heartbreaking loss for one of their major stars puts them firmly behind the eight ball.
Being a boxing promoter is a lifestyle and you can never take anything for granted. Acting high and mighty or aloof can come back to haunt you within 12 rounds of action or less, so it’s best to keep a modicum of humility.
They never do!
Since the beginning of the 21st century, no promoter has dominated the field. As is the case with the fighters they represent, a promoter will endure their fair share of adversity during business hours and there’s no way to avoid that.
So, how do things stand at the moment among the world’s biggest and most successful promoters? The Sporting News takes a look at six boxing powerhouses and their respective stables.
*Champions as of July 10.
Boxxer
Ben Shalom (Founder and CEO)
Shalom, 29, came out of nowhere and struck a lucrative deal with U.K. broadcasting giant Sky Sports in 2021. In a relatively short period of time, this union proved fruitful with some stacked shows being aired on traditional Sky Sports channels and Sky Box Office pay-per-view.
The fledgling promotional firm puts a huge emphasis on gathering top British talent and carried both the Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Liam Smith showdown and Claressa Shields' classic dustup with Savannah Marshall.
Current world champions
- Chris Billam-Smith (WBO cruiserweight)
- Natasha Jonas (IBF, WBC, WBO, and Ring Magazine super welterweight)
Other notable names:
Martin Bakole, Frazer Clarke (heavyweights), Lawrence Okolie, Richard Riakporhe (cruiserweights), Joshua Buatsi, Ben Whittaker (light heavyweights), Liam Smith (middleweight), Adam Azim (super lightweight), Savannah Marshall (super middleweight), Caroline Dubois (lightweight), Karriss Artingstall (featherweight).
MORE: The Sporting News' men's pound-for-pound rankings
Golden Boy Promotions
Oscar De La Hoya (Chairman and CEO)
De La Hoya took the experience he gained from accruing six world championships in as many divisions over to the promotional game in 2002. Over the past two decades, the Los Angeles-based firm has worked with the biggest pay-per-view stars in the business including De La Hoya himself, Floyd Mayweather and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.
Losing Canelo to Matchroom Boxing in 2020 was a bitter pill to swallow. And while GBP took Ryan Garcia into a megafight with Gervonta Davis earlier this year, their fighter lost via seventh-round knockout and is now pushing hard to get out of his contract. De La Hoya, who could use a Twitter sabbatical, has taken legal action against his protege.
Current world champions:
- 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:
Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez (light heavyweight), Jaime Munguia, Shane Mosley Jr. (super middleweights), Vergil Ortiz Jr. (welterweight), Blair Cobbs (welterweight), Ryan Garcia (super lightweight).
Matchroom Boxing
Eddie Hearn (Chairman)
Hearn took a sports management career into the world of boxing promotion almost 10 years ago and helped redefine an empire that was originally created by his father, Barry. The Anthony Joshua linkup proved to be a gamechanger, setting the agenda for stadium events around the world. His success was bolstered by a $1 billion deal with DAZN.
It hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows. Due to human rights issues in the Middle East, Hearn has come under fire from some quarters for his willingness to take big shows in that direction, and he was slammed for his handling of Conor Benn's postive test for PEDs. In spite of that, Matchroom continues to deliver and their roster of elite talent is enormous.
Current world champions:
- Dmitry Bivol (WBA light heavyweight)
- Gennadiy Golovkin (IBF and WBA middleweight)
- Terri Harper (WBA super welterweight)
- Jessica McCaskill (WBA and WBC welterweight)
- Sandy Ryan (WBO welterweight)
- Chantelle Cameron (undisputed super lightweight)
- Regis Prograis (WBC super lightweight)
- Katie Taylor (undisputed lightweight)
- Joe Cordina (IBF super featherweight)
- Leigh Wood (WBA 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)
- Sivenathi Nontshinga (IBF light flyweight)
Other notable names:
Anthony Joshua, Filip Hrgovic, Fabio Wardley (heavyweights) Callum Smith (light heavyweight), Diego Pacheco (super middleweight), Conor Benn (welterweight), Jack Catterall (super lightweight), Raymond Ford (super featherweight), Mauricio Lara, Josh Warrington, Hopey Price (featherweights).
MORE: The Sporting News' women's pound-for-pound rankings
Premier Boxing Champions (PBC)
Al Haymon (CEO)
Haymon is as elusive outside of the ring as Pernell Whitaker used to be inside of it, but that hasn’t stopped him. The former music mogul ventured into boxing in 2000 and formed PBC in 2015. Armed with saddlebags full of cash and a ton of ambition, Haymon quickly established himself as one of the most successful players in world boxing.
With an extremely large roster, the persistent problem for PBC has been a lack of dates for their fighters. However, they have the long-awaited Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford clash forthcoming on July 29 and have just signed a three-fight deal with Canelo.
Current world champions:
- Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (undisputed super middleweight)
- Jermall Charlo (WBC middleweight)
- Jermell Charlo (undisputed super welterweight)
- Errol Spence Jr. (IBF, WBA and WBC welterweight)
- Subriel Matias (IBF super lightweight)
- Rolando Romero (WBA super lightweight)
- O’Shaqui Foster (WBC super featherweight)
- Rey Vargas (WBC featherweight)
- Stephen Fulton (WBC and WBO super bantamweight)
- Fernando Martinez (IBF super flyweight)
Other notable names:
David Benavidez, David Morrell, Caleb Plant, Demitrius Andrade (super middleweights), Carlos Adames (middleweight), Tim Tszyu (super welterweight), Jaron 'Boots' Ennis (welterweight), Brandun Lee, Mario Barrios, Alberto Puello, Frank Martin (super lightweights), Mark Magsayo (featherweight), Angelo Leo (super bantamweight), Nonito Donaire (bantamweight).
Queensberry Promotions
Frank Warren (CEO)
Warren has been in boxing for over 40 years, establishing himself as a Hall of Fame promoter. Through good times and bad, he's always managed to bounce back and get big fights over the line.
However, Warren could be doing with using his vast experience to get Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk signed and sealed, as the public is running out of patience. World champions are in short supply at the moment, but Warren has over 60 fighters on his roster, many of whom are tipped for big things.
Current world champions:
- Tyson Fury (WBC heavyweight - co-promoted with Top Rank)
Other notable names:
Daniel Dubois, Zhilei Zhang, Joe Joyce, Moses Itauma, David Adeleye (heavyweights), Denys Berinchyk (lightweight), Nick Ball (featherweight), Dennis McCann (super bantamweight).
Top Rank Boxing
Bob Arum (CEO)
Arum is the longest-serving active promoter in world boxing. Having worked in the sport across seven decades, the Hall of Famer has promoted Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, and the list goes on.
"Yesterday, I was lying. Today I'm telling the truth" is a quote that became synonymous with the Top Rank boss who was a lawyer before turning his attention to boxing. During his time, he's certainly courted controversy, having once bribed the IBF to sanction a fight. At 91 years of age, one would think that he'd like to put his feet up, but The Bobfather isn't showing any signs of slowing down.
Current world champions:
- Tyson Fury (WBC heavyweight - co-promoted with Queensberry)
- Artur Beterbiev (IBF, WBA and WBC light heavyweight)
- Janibek Alimkhanuly (WBO middleweight)
- Teofimo Lopez (WBO and Ring Magazine super lightweight)
- Devin Haney (undisputed lightweight)
- Emmanuel Navarrete (WBO super featherweight)
- Robesiy Ramirez (WBO featherweight)
- Luis Alberto Lopez (IBF featherweight)
- Jason Moloney (WBO bantamweight)
- Seniesa Estrada (WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine minimumweight)
Other notable names:
Jared Anderson, Richard Torrez Jr., Arslanbek Makhmudov (heavyweights), Xander Zayas (super welterweight), Josh Taylor, Jose Ramirez (super lightweights), Vasiliy Lomachenko, George Kambosos Jr., Shakur Stevenson, Keyshawn Davis, Emiliano Vargas (lightweights), Oscar Valdez (super featherweight), Michael Conlan (featherweight), Naoya Inoue (super bantamweight).