Chris Billam-Smith returns to his hometown of Bournemouth to headline the inaugural Zuffa Boxing UK event against Ryan Rozicki on Saturday.

Billam-Smith is taking on Rozicki at the Bournemouth International Center and the bill is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and Paramount+ in the US.

“The Gentleman” is fighting in Bournemouth for the first time since he forced Mateusz Masternak to retire in the eighth round during the first defense of his WBO cruiserweight title.

After taking revenge on Richard Riakporhe in a rematch, the 35-year-old dropped the heavyweight belt lost by unanimous decision to Zurdo Ramirez in reunification in 2024

Billam-Smith (21-2, 13 KO) returned to winning ways after a points victory over Brandon Glanton in his last appearance in April last year.

Rozicki (21-1-1, 20 KO) has lost only once in his 23 professional fights, overtaken by Oscar Rivas in the fight for the WBC bridgeweight crown in 2021.

“The Bruiser” previously fought for the WBC interim cruiserweight title and drew against Yamil Alberto Peralta.

The 31-year-old Canadian returned to winning ways after knocking out Gerardo Mellado in the second round in March and will enter Saturday’s fight as the number one contender in the WBC rankings.

See this post on Instagram

Post shared by Zuffa Boxing (@zuffaboxing)

Massey meets Clarke

Jack Massey meets Cheavon Clarke at the cruiserweight crossroads.

Massey (23-3, 13 KO) was knocked out by Opetaia in his fight for the 2024 IBF cruiserweight crown, but got back into the win column in November with a fourth-round stoppage of Ivan Gabriel Garcia.

Clarke (11-2, 8 KO), a 2020 Olympian, saw his progress ponderous after consecutive losses to Leonardo Mosquea and Viddal Riley.

After returning to play in December, the 35-year-old knocked out Anthony Holloway in the fourth round.

Undercard remaining

Lee Cutler (15-2, 7 KO) from Bournemouth moves to middleweight and can return to winning ways thanks to a points victory over Aaron Sutton (19-2, 3 KO).

Heavyweight Ivan Dychko (15-1, 14 KO) was defeated by Jermaine Franklin in September, but should bounce back by handing Harvey Dykes (7-0-1) his first loss after the break.

See this post on Instagram

Post shared by Zuffa Boxing (@zuffaboxing)

Stephen McKenna (15-1, 14 KO) hasn’t fought since his loss to Cutler in 2024, but he should return after his victory over Casey James Streeter (15-3-2, 6 KO) in the middleweight division.

In the third middleweight fight, Sam Hickey (4-0, 1 KO) can break the undefeated record of Todd Tompkins (4-0) by scoring points.

Airy heavyweight Leon Hughes (4-0, 3 KO) and welterweight Alex Macmillan (3-0, 2 KO) should secure victories in their respective fights via stoppage.

The post Chris Billam-Smith vs. Ryan Rozicki – Gigantic Fight Preview and Predictions appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.

Ed Pereira described how through IVisitBoxing he hopes to aid change the sport for the future.

Pereira is promoting IVisitBoxing’s next appearance on July 11 in San Francisco.

The promoter spoke to proboxing-fans.com about his journey to the boxing world after great success with his other ventures, including IVisit Media.

Pereira truly introduced himself to the boxing world last May when he, along with Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season, promoted an event in the middle of Times Square.

The event featured some of the sport’s biggest names, including Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney and Rolando Romero, with a world title fight topping the bill.

Pereira reflected on the event and spoke honestly about how it all happened.

“Times Square was an incredible experience because of how tough it was to create.

“People were disconnected from the experience, and that’s what I felt: I want people to be engaged.”

He also revealed what message he carries in his company and what is most essential to him when promoting events throughout the United States.

“Make something and then show it to as many people as possible. And I’m still doing it, 30 years later.”

He talked about how he believes boxing impacts the lives of individuals, from the fighters themselves to the audience, and why accessibility in sport is so essential.

“Boxing doesn’t just change people’s lives – it changes the way the world sees people.

“That’s the power of boxing.”

IVB and Pereira’s next appearance will be on July 11, with the main event being Anthony Olascuaga’s fight against Andy Dominguez Velasquez.

The fight card will be on display at the Civic Center and a wide range of tickets will be available, including a free section allowing anyone to watch the fights. Pereira hopes to break the boxing attendance record of 135, 132 set in 1941 by Tony Zale vs. Billy Pryor.

“For me, San Francisco is the story of every single person on that card.

“Boxing is not broken.

“We need to make boxing more open to everyone.

“It’s about affordability. It’s about accessibility.

“That’s why we stick with YouTube. That’s why we stick with TikTok.”

The post “Boxing Isn’t Broken” – Ed Pereira Reveals Vision for the Future of the Sport appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.

Eddie Hearn believes Tyson Fury lacks confidence ahead of his clash with Anthony Joshua later this year.

Joshua and Fury have signed a deal to face each other in the highly anticipated all-British blockbuster, which is expected to be staged in November.

“AJ” will be there will face the unknown Albanian Kristian Prenga during warm-ups in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on July 25.

Fury, who retired to beat Arslanbek Makhmudov on points in April, is also keen to fight again before facing his long-time rival, with an August 1 date being discussed.

Joshua’s promoter Hearn questions the Morecambe fighter’s decision to fight another fight in the meantime, believing it could signal a lack of faith.

“He’s going to do what he’s going to do,” the 46-year-old said Sky Sports Boxing.

“And if he feels like he needs a good fight, I like that because it tells me he’s not completely confident.

“He shot 12 good rounds with Makhmudov to the point where you really need more rounds?

“He told us, ‘You don’t need another fight.’

“In two years of boxing, we had four rounds with Jake Paul.

“You had 12 rounds with Makhmudov at Tottenham but you still feel you need more rounds to prepare for Anthony Joshua.

“More rounds won’t assist you, because I can see it.

“When Makhmudov came into that fight, I knew what AJ was going to do.”

“AJ” came face to face with Prenga at their stadium first press conference on Monday in London.

The 36-year-old will fight for the first time since he knocked out Jake Paul in the sixth round in December in Miami.

10 days after Paul was arrested, the Watford man suffered minor injuries in a fatal car crash that killed two of his close friends, Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami, while on holiday in Nigeria.

Joshua has already returned to the training camp in Valencia along with former rival Oleksandr Usyk.

The post ‘I’m not confident’ – Eddie Hearn QUESTIONS Tyson Fury warm-up fight appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.