SMITH PROMOTER BIDS TO CLEAR UP HOMOPHOBIA ROW

BEN SHALOM has denied defending homophobic comments by Liam Smith after Sky Sports sought clarity around an interview given by the promoter following Smith’s win over Chris Eubank Jnr last month.

Sportsmail has been told that Shalom was asked to explain remarks made in the aftermath of Smith’s knockout victory, when he said the fighter had to ‘put up with a lot of rubbish’ ahead of the bout. His comments were interpreted by perplexed Sky employees as a defence of Smith, who drew considerable criticism for saying to Eubank Jnr in a pre-fight press conference: ‘Chris, you go on about girls mate, has anybody in this room ever seen you with a girl? You’re 33. Do you want to tell us something?’ Shalom, whose BOXXER company is responsible for the broadcaster’s UK-based output, claims he had been referring to ‘incendiary’ statements directed at his fighter in the week of the grudge match, with Eubank Jnr having responded to Smith’s taunts by saying: ‘I’ve been told by multiple sources that you cheat on your wife on occasion.’ A BOXXER spokesperson told Sportsmail: ‘We would like to ensure there isn’t any misunderstanding following post-fight comments made by our CEO and founder, Ben Shalom.

‘It was not a defence of any unsavoury remarks between the fighters that were made in the build-up to the fight. It was instead an acknowledgment of other incendiary comments levelled towards Liam that created some personal issues for him during fight week.

‘We absolutely do not condone or endorse any discriminatory attitudes, language or behaviour.’

A Sky Sports spokesperson said: ‘We do not tolerate homophobia or any form of discrimination at Sky Sports. We expect our partners to support our views on equality and inclusion for all.’