The Zuffa Boxing era on Paramount+ will begin on January 23 in Las Vegas, when undefeated Irish junior middleweight contender Callum Walsh (15-0, 11 KO) will face Carlos Ocampo (38-3, 26 KO) in the main event of UFC Apex.
Zuffa executive and UFC CEO Dana White made the announcement on Friday during “The Stephen A. Smith Show.” The event will take place the day before UFC 324, the main attraction of which will be the fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett for the interim UFC lightweight title at T-Mobile Arena.
Walsh, 24, has been praised by White for several years, and many of his fights have been featured on UFC Fight Pass. He was last in the co-main event of Terence Crawford’s victory over Canelo Alvarez in September, when Walsh won a narrow unanimous decision over Fernando Vargas Jr. Walsh will have the opportunity to headline Zuffa Boxing’s inaugural boxing gala and set the tone for the organization’s offerings.
Ocampo, 30, has won three straight fights since being stopped in the first round by Tim Tszyu in June 2023. Ocampo’s other two losses were to current unified junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora and former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.
“When I talk about drafting, I mean all these emerging players,” White said. “We have a kid named Ocampo who is a seasoned veteran. His only losses have been title fights – three title fight losses. He has more knockouts than Callum has fights. Callum, undefeated, 15-0 and that’s the main event. It should be a good boxing event.”
White touts Zuffa’s entry into boxing and suggests that Zuffa Boxing will be a game changer for the sport by offering high-quality matchmaking and debuting the promotion with its own world titles and ranking system.
“I’ve been talking trash about boxing for a long time, and now it’s time for me to put my money where my mouth is,” White said. “I’m going to get rid of the sanctioning organizations. The best will fight the best. We’re going to get all the teenage, up-and-coming fighters.
“If you get in the top 10 and you’re still undefeated, your undefeated record means something. You know what I mean? Everybody’s undefeated in boxing because nobody’s fighting anybody, right? Everybody’s going to fight everybody.”