BOXXER promoter Ben Shalom has told fans to expect “something quite spectacular” when they see Vitality Stadium on Saturday night.
For the first time, Cherries are hosting a world title boxing bout on the pitch, with the final football match of the season to be played there having taken place last weekend.
BCP Council have approved a licence to allow extra capacity into the ground, with 15,000 allowed for the event, which is being headlined by Bournemouth’s Chris Billam-Smith, challenging Lawrence Okolie.
Discussing BOXXER’s relationship with Cherries, Shalom told the Daily Echo: “They’re a small, family club. As much as they’re a Premier League club, they are.
“This is the first event they’ve ever staged on the pitch like this. This has been an operational nightmare really at times, the licencing and things like that, it’s something that they’re not used to.
“But they’ve all seen how important this event can be.
“We were there this week with the local community and the Premier League kids and Maverick Trust, which is a charity we work with. It means a lot to them and the community.
“Without them, this doesn’t happen. The investment they’ve put into it and into Chris, they feel very proud to call him their own and they want him to win a world title on Saturday night.”
A 15,000 stadium show on Saturday, and we’re creating something special 🏟️@Lawrence_tko v @ChrisBillam will be a night that Bournemouth never forgets 🙌#OkolieBillamSmith | Saturday, The Vitality Stadium | @SkySportsBoxing | @whodaresgyms @joek4global pic.twitter.com/uX8LVufw9l
— BOXXER (@boxxer) May 25, 2023
Asked how the stadium is looking after its BOXXER makeover ahead of the Sky Sports event, Shalom added: “Honestly, it’s going to be spectacular down there. I think it’s going to be one for everyone to remember.
“There’s fireworks, there’s huge ring-walk entrances planned, it’s going to be amazing.
“Every seat in the place is full. There’s more people there on Saturday night than are there for Premier League games.
“It’s going to be something quite spectacular. It looks good, it looks bigger than when I first came down here and I think Chris feels the same way.
“He can’t quite believe that he is headlining the stadium that he goes to almost every week to watch them play.”
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