Ben Shalom is expecting to confirm imminently an opponent for Francesca Hennessy on the undercard of Natasha Jonas-Lauren Price.
Jonas and Price are to contest the IBF, WBA and WBC welterweight titles at London’s Royal Albert Hall on March 7 in an all-female bill that will also feature Caroline Dubois defending her WBC lightweight title against an opponent to be confirmed.
The 20-year-old Hennessy and Savannah Marshall were both present in London at the first press conference staged to officially announce Jonas-Price, without being confirmed as on course to feature on the Boxxer promotion, contributing to Hennessy and her trainer Bradley Skeete criticising the promoter who has so far guided her five-fight career.
“I was told to come to the presser [and that I was] going to be announced on the card and I don’t really know what’s going on,” she said. “I was told weeks ago I was fighting on this card, so I’m just a bit annoyed to be honest. I feel a bit disrespected.”
Shalom on Saturday oversees Adam Azim-Sergey Lipinets at London’s Wembley Arena and is also promoting Chris Eubank Jnr-Conor Benn on April 26 and preparing to promote on another date in April, and asked about the confusion surrounding Hennessy told BoxingScene: “The broadcaster [Sky Sports] wanted us to make sure she was matched. She’s been a fantastic talent so far; I believe she’ll be on the card; we’ll announce her fight very soon.
“As we speak, we’ve got options [for an opponent]. We’re discussing with the team who the right choice is. It’s a massive, historic card, and we just want the best fight possible.
“Savannah should be announced soon as well. It’s a huge, huge night for women’s boxing. We’d love Savannah to be on that, and we want to announce her fight. The route for Savannah is the heavier weights – we want to have a great fight on March 7th, and obviously she’s after the Claressa Shields fight, and Claressa wants that fight as well. There should be some big news around Savannah and around Fran and who they’re fighting in the next few days.
“Sometimes there’s miscommunication in boxing. Especially if you’re not talking directly. I’ve got nothing but love for Fran. We’ve tried to give her every opportunity possible; to give her the platform at a very young age, and I’m sure she’s going to continue and have a great career.”
