Zuffa Boxing announces Jan 23rd debut, Ajagba-Martins main event for Feb 14
The boxing world has been looking forward to Zuffa Boxing’s second event since Dana White revealed his plans to get into the sport.
Last year, the UFC’s president promoted the Canelo vs. Crawford fight, in partnership with Saudi Arabia Riyadh Season.
This week, Zuffa Boxing announced two upcoming events. The first is a fight between ‘King’ Callum Walsh (15-0, 14 KOs) and Carlos Ocampos (38-3, 26 KOs) slated for January 23rd. The second event, set for February 14th, features a heavyweight bout between Efe Ajagba (20-1-1, 14 KOs) and Charles Martin (30-4-1, 27 KOs).
The events will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and will be available to watch on Paramount+.
Even though he’s made a name for himself in mixed martial arts, Dana White has a goal to succeed in boxing, and he will have to prove himself all over again.
He has never been one to avoid discussing boxing. White has frequently stated that boxing is a sport in decline, often because the top fighters don’t compete against each other, or if they do, it’s well past their prime.
White has been involved in two of the biggest boxing events of the last ten years, namely the Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather fight and the more recent Canelo Álvarez vs. Terrence Crawford match.
The announced fights may not match the excitement level of White’s prior boxing endeavours, but it’s still worth watching.
Dana plans to create a UFC-like promotion with Zuffa Boxing, with fights between similarly ranked fighters. He will attempt to make this new project a success, drawing on his three decades of experience promoting mixed martial arts and with support from the Saudi government.
Even so, he must find his way through the complicated world of boxing politics.