By Harrison Baskind
IT HAS been just over two and a half years since former professional boxer, now turned promoter, Izzy Asif and GBM Sports held their first-ever promotion at the Magna Centre in Rotherham.
Since then, the promotional company has grown significantly. By securing partnership deals with DAZN and Talksport, it has positioned itself as a leading small hall promotional company.
For boxers, activity is key, and for those who are up-and-coming, the platform GBM provides is perfect.
This week, I interviewed GBM’s Murtaza Nadeem (3-0, 2KO), Arlo Stephens (2-0, 1KO), and Edward Hardy (1-0) to hear firsthand the impact that the company is having on fighters’ lives and to learn about their respective careers.
Murtaza Nadeem
In his most recent performance, 24-year-old super-middleweight Nadeem impressively knocked out the experienced Adam Cieslak in just one round. He said about his performance, “I was so calm, I enjoyed it, and I feel as if I have broken through a wall.”
When he was young, he had 20 amateur fights before leaving the sport for nine years to pursue CrossFit. Since returning to the sport, Nadeem has had to adapt to a significantly different diet. “With CrossFit, it was all about eating as much as you can. I would be on 5-6k calories per day,” he said. “I am now on a 3k meal plan, and I am starving these days, to be honest!”
After being out of the sport for a long time, the man known as ‘The Butcher’ was fully aware of how this would look to promoters. Speaking about Izzy and GBM signing him, he said, “They took a big risk, and it is paying off for them as well as it is for myself.”
Speaking on where he wants to get to in his career, Nadeem said: “You want to reach the pinnacle. When you look at Beterbiev and Triple G, it is not so much the fact they win world titles, it’s the way they do it. I want to be able to do that, I just want to be so much better than everybody else.”
Arlo Stephens
After an extensive amateur career, the 28-year-old heavyweight entered the professional ranks with a lot of hype. In his first fight, he secured a points victory, and in his second outing, he delivered a fantastic first-round knockout. Speaking about his recent performance, he said, “It felt just like the amateur days, it felt great.”
While boxing can be lucrative for those at the top, for those just starting out, it is common to not be in the sport full-time. Stephens, alongside boxing, is a Mental Health Occupational Therapist. Speaking on how he balances the two professions, Stephens (pictured below) said, ‘It’s tiring. I’m up at six for training, in at eight for work, and then after work, I’m training again.
“The plan is full-time boxing. The more fights I get, the more likely that this will become possible.”
On his aspirations, he said, “If I didn’t achieve a British title, I would think that I’ve underachieved. That is not disrespecting the British Title; I just feel like I have all the talent and work ethic to get there.”
Edward Hardy
The 22-year-old from Doncaster (pictured below) began his career last month, beating a live Engel Gomez on points. Reflecting on his performance Ed said, “I’m really pleased with my performance, it all went to plan, and it is just nice to get the first one out the way.”
In his first fight, he fought at super-featherweight, but he said that he is really a super-bantamweight and will fight at that in his second fight.
The man known as the “Farm Boy” has lived and worked on a farm all his life and still balances it with his boxing. “It’s not too bad to balance, to be honest. My family is really supportive, and my dad gives me a couple of hours off each day for training,” he said. “As I move forward in my career, I would like to always be involved in the farm one way or another.”
Hardy also has a large following, which can prove to be too much pressure for many fighters. However, he said, “It was strange because I was nervous in the changing rooms, but once I got out there and heard them all shouting, I was quite calm, and I didn’t really feel the pressure.”
Like all young fighters, he is very ambitious. He said, “I want to become a world champion and win as many titles as possible.”
Finally, he said, “I feel really lucky to get a contract with GBM and Izzy.”
Their careers have only just begun, but with GBM’s backing, the future is looking bright for all three of them.
On his own social media account, Izzy has said that in a year, he would like to have a stable full of fighters competing at the world level. His fighters echo his aspirations for the promotional company.
“They (GBM) could go anywhere. I don’t think the other small hall promoters have what Izzy and his team have,” said Nadeem.
Stephens said, “They (GBM) are flying right now. The shows are of the same quality of Matchroom and Queensbury.”
“If Izzy keeps pushing, I see no reason why they can’t reach the top,” said Hardy.
Izzy, GBM, Nadeem, Stephens, and Hardy will all return on December 7th for the ‘A Storm is Coming’ event.
