After dipping his toe into the unpredictable, thankless and costly world of boxing promotion in 2022 and 2023, Izzy Asif plunged headfirst into the business in 2024.

Over the course of 11 months, South Yorkshire-based GBM Sports staged nine shows. They finished the year with a broadcast deal with DAZN, a talented roster of fighters and a reputation for staging evenly matched, quality cards.

The show they held last September can be held up as a prime example of the direction they appear to be quickly moving in.

Headlined by the exciting Shakiel Thompson’s knockout win over River Wilson-Bent, a packed undercard featured Ryan Walsh’s devastating and shocking first round knockout of Reece Mould. World class lightweight, Maxi Hughes, got dragged into a give and take affair with aggressive and ambitious Efstathios Antonas and high profile heavyweight, Hughie Fury, got back to action by beating the 9-1 Christian Thun.

There was also title action for Tysie Gallagher and appearances from a whole host of undefeated prospects.

It was the type of event that put some of the British shows staged by major promoters in 2024 to shame.

Things aren’t slowing down. GBM’s 2025 slate is already filling up and gets underway in February when they host Shakan Pitters’ bid to win the European light heavyweight title from France’s Daniel Blenda Dos Santos.

It isn’t easy but Asif is yet to become jaded by his demanding occupation.

“Yeah, listen, I've loved it. I wouldn't do it if I didn't love it because financially it can be very tough but of course we love it and want to keep pushing on it because this is our business. It's not made for everybody. It's a tough business, boxing promotion, but I've got a good team around me,” Asif told The Ring.

Asif has been involved in boxing for years but until he took the plunge and began staging shows, he was always more concerned with the actual fighting. He boxed at heavyweight and retired in 2012 with a 3-1 record.

Suddenly, he is the one dealing with bad news calls from matchmakers and complaints from trainers. He is having to speak to the Boxing Board of Control about medical queries and work permits. He is having to think on his feet to keep well matched cards from falling apart after the tickets have been sold.

The past three years have been a learning experience.

“I understand the game. I've been around this game 21 years as an amateur and a professional boxer and now as a promoter so I feel like I've got a bit of experience in it but I’m still learning all the time and just keep pushing,” he said.

“Expect the unexpected. Nothing surprises me in this game.

“We've had pull-outs after weigh-ins. We've had fighters tell you one thing and people don't see it from the perspective of a promoter. The struggles, the tribulations, the trials you go through. The emotions you go through. You hear a lot about what the fighters going through but you do a lot as a promoter and it's the kind of thing I'm going to push next year and give an interactive view of what a boxing promoter goes through when it's a fight week and close to a fight and that kind of stuff.”

Lots of new figures come into boxing with grand plans and ideas about how to elevate and bring something new to the sport.

The newcomers tend to be well meaning fans and businessmen who believe that their particular area of expertise will allow them to fill a glaring gap in the market that only they have identified.

They generally make the mistake of spending the vast majority of their funds and concentration on making the events appear glitzy and glamorous rather than worrying about the product they are selling.

At some point in the evening, the invited great and good will put down their canapés and drinks and take their seats to watch an Eastern European cruiserweight maul his way through six rounds with an inexperienced young prospect. Good luck getting a cast member from The Real Housewives of Cheshire to buy a ticket for the second event.

By the third or fourth event, budgets are cut and the shows have usually become almost exact replicas of the ones they were designed to replace. At which point things peter out.

Asif came into the sport with his eyes wide open. Yes, modern events need to look and feel ‘big’ but he has been to enough small halls and sports centres to know that real boxing fans will only return if the actual fights deliver.

“We're always thinking about the viewership and the fans out there paying their hard-earned money. What do they want to see? That's not just with the fights. The production, the layout, the setting. The whole kind of atmosphere is based on fan-friendly kind of delivery. That’s what we owe boxing fans,” he said.

“There's a lot of competition out there with UFC and the other promoters and, obviously, we want to mix with the big boys and with the best promoters in the country and so we're going to keep delivering these kind of fights and events.

“We’ve made a real statement this year. We've really pushed it on and it's been a big year for us.

“I'm an all-or-nothing kind of guy. You know, go big or go home. That's what I said and I'll stick by that. I've made some good investments in my business days over the years and I can probably earn a lot more money doing something else but this is about legacy and reaching the top for me and this is where I want to be. I want to be with the big boys and the best promoters in the country.”

Asif’s approach has attracted some genuine quality to his stable. Fighters like Shakiel Thompson, Reece Mould, Shakan Pitters and Danny Quatermaine will be competing at title level for years to come whilst GBM have also recently signed the talented Donte Dixon, Central Area champion, Jimmy Joe Flint and British and Commonwealth super bantamweight champion, Tysie Gallagher.

Fighters can be flattered and tempted by the promise of money and fame, but Asif also works with some respected managers and trainers whose job it is to see through any bluster. They wouldn’t entrust talented fighters to somebody they didn’t believe was capable of delivering what they promise.

Boxing is the ultimate show, don’t tell business and a reputation can be ruined in a fraction of the time it takes to build but Asif has done everything he has said.

He is producing quality cards on a major platform and has shown that he is capable of delivering title opportunities for his fighters. When all the bells and whistles are taken away, that is the key to successful promoting.

“I'll be honest with you, when I started nobody trusted us. They were saying, ‘Who's he? What's he done? What do you know about promoting? What do you know about managing? What do you know about business?’” Asif said.

“I had all these doubts and things going against me and I just feel that it was my positivity and my motivation to prove to people that I am going to do what I say I will do. I feel like we've done that at a certain level but you're not seeing the best of us.

“Obviously, a lot of things are against us. well, in fact I won't say against us but a lot of things are different obviously. Being a Yorkshire based promotion for one. Historically, London dominated boxing promotion for generations really and it's hard coming from a different kind of background. We’ve made it work and we've pushed hard.

“We’ve been daring and invested hard and we've just timed it well. We’ve said the right things at the right times and signed the right people. We’ve made the right fights at the right time and going on DAZN has been a great move for us all.

“We've achieved a lot. Three years ago, nobody in British boxing knew who we were and I like to think there aren’t many in British boxing who don’t know who we are now and it's a great kind of feeling knowing that we've achieved that in such a short space of time.

“Next year, we'll take it to a whole different level. You’re going to see some special nights. We’re looking forward to it. It's a great journey so far with a lot more to come.”