Izzy Asif is the first-ever British Pakistani boxing promoter and is making waves through the industry. In his first-ever year, he secured an unprecedented multi-fight broadcast agreement with the world’s largest sports radio station talkSPORT to live stream its events on their official YouTube Boxing Channel.
He’s heading towards his third sold-out show of 2024 which is one of the best boxing shows of the year. We’ve had some phenomenal fighters come through the ranks including Amir Khan, Adam Azim, and Hamzah Sheeraz.
Izzy Asif himself was a professional fighter, now he is the fastest-rising in the UK on the promotional side. He spoke to the newsweekly about it.
Can you share with us the journey that led you from being a professional fighter to becoming a successful boxing promoter?
Once I’d finished boxing professionally, I still had a huge attachment to the game so I was always going to be involved in some capacity. It was a natural progression. I’d never set out to have a career in promotion after I’d retired from boxing. I got a phone call asking me to be involved in the Amir Khan fight with Billy Dib in Saudi Arabia in 2019. I went there as a head coach and ended up managing the whole undercard and overlooking a lot of the fights on the night, as well as looking after Amir’s fight camp in Saudi Arabia.
That is what led me to believe I could have a career in management or promotion. That’s where the journey started. I went on to get my license to put boxing shows on, and now we are here - one of the top forces in British boxing.
Securing a multi-fight broadcast agreement with talkSPORT is a significant achievement. What strategies or approaches did you employ to negotiate such a groundbreaking deal?
There wasn’t any strategy to a certain degree, we just showcased what we’d done. The team at talkSPORT were interested. They’d come to our events and see what we could do. Our product, our shows, our fights speak for themselves - so a sales pitch wasn’t needed. They saw our atmosphere, show logistics, and productions and knew its different to anyone else in the country. It excited them and they knew they wanted to be involved. There wasn’t a strategic plan to go out there and negotiate, they were interested and let our product get the deal over the line. It was a huge deal and it has opened a lot of doors for us as a business.
Your events have consistently attracted top-tier talent like Amir Khan, Adam Azim, and Hamzah Sheeraz. How do you go about scouting and selecting fighters for your shows?
Getting the best talent for our shows has been a case of naturally progressing. When we first started, no one wanted to sign with us. There was a lot of hesitance as we were a brand-new promoter. We’d only been a promoter for a few months when we first started signing fighters so we were seen as new on the block, even though I’d been in the industry for a long time. This is why you see a lot of big names at our shows - well-known fighting figures. I’ve been in the game for 20 years so I’ve built a huge rapport with the likes of Amir Khan and Hamzah Sheeraz.
We’ve built a great relationship, we’re from the same community, and from being in the game for a long time we’ve built a level of respect from the fighters. They know I’ve been in the ring and done it myself. They come to the shows and know the atmosphere is special. Word travels fast, so with each event we put on we’re attracting more and more big names.
What challenges have you faced in establishing yourself as a prominent boxing promoter, and how have you overcome them?
It is a tough industry to be in and to break into. There’s a stigma towards promoters, where people believe we aren’t transparent or looking after fighters' interests. These obstacles are typical in the industry. We always try to be fair and reasonable, we’ve taken losses on the journey but we’ve learned lots of lessons. I’ve been in business for most of my life, so I understand that we need to address and resolve issues as soon as they arrive. It is a huge sport where people risk their lives, so I always try my best to make sure fighters and their teams are happy. Building the right reputation is what is going to allow our business to succeed and thrive.
With the success of your sold-out shows and the increasing popularity of your events, what are your future plans for expanding and solidifying your position within the boxing industry?
We’re at a stage now where we’d like to secure a huge broadcaster. We’ve already surpassed many others who have been in the game for a long, long time. We are currently selling out 3,000 seater stadiums, but we want to be selling out 20,000 at the likes of the O2. That is going to come in time. We’ve signed fighters who we believe have the potential to headline stadiums, and the support of a big broadcaster will help us to boost the profile of our fighters and events to make this possible. We’re happy with where we are, we’re enjoying the moment and we know this is all to come.
