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Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing announces major UK broadcasting deal: ‘A huge milestone’

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Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing announce major UK broadcaster deal: “A massive milestone”

Less than two months after hosting its first event, Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing team has signed a broadcast deal in the UK.

After taking the MMA world by storm and making the UFC arguably the largest combat sports promotion in the world, White has now turned his attention to boxing, partnering with Saudi Arabian boss Turki Al-Sheikh to launch Zuffa Boxing.

They’ve held four shows so far, the last of which saw cruiserweight star Jai Opetaia in action, but it was probably the moves they made away from those shows that got the most attention.

The most notable of these is the shock signing of Conor Benn, who joined forces with White and Zuffa last month after leaving long-term promoters Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing.

Zuffa’s latest game was revealed today after it was confirmed signed a long-term contract with the British giant Sky Sports to broadcast their programs in the future.

Sky, in particular, had an exclusive deal with Matchroom for around a decade before spending the last few years broadcasting Boxxer events. Now they will be teaming up with Zuffa, and White shared his delight at the announcement.

“The UK has played a key role in the history of boxing. The fans there are some of the most true and passionate in the world. When you talk about boxing in this region, Sky Sports has always been home to legendary boxing matches.

“There is no bigger or better platform to showcase the best boxing in the UK. This is a huge milestone for Zuffa Boxing.”

The deal covers a minimum of five performances per year across the UK, with a more detailed schedule to be published in the coming weeks.

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Boxing

Roy Jones Jr Declares New KO Artist the Next Canelo: Fans Eager for Fight

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"Roy Jones Jr Declares New KO Artist the 'Next Canelo': Fans Eager for Fight"

Roy Jones Jr has named one fighter as the “new Canelo” and, by extension, considers them to be the ‘face of boxing’.

Some might argue that Canelo Alvarez remains boxing’s biggest commercial star but, with the 36-year-old approaching retirement, the sport is surely crying out for another mainstream attraction to take his place.

It is also unusual for the four-division world champion that, by the end of this year, he will not have fought on Cinco de Mayo or Mexican Independence Day weekend.

Instead, occupying the latter date earlier this month was Ryan Garciawho retained his WBC world title with a second-round stoppage of Conor Benn, taking his record to 21 knockouts from 26 victories, with just two defeats.

In doing so, the 28-year-old has kept himself in the mix for unification matches with Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney but, until such fights materialise, he seems eager to remain active and defend his welterweight belt.

As far as a next opponent goes, Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz has been mentioned as a possible option following his emphatic sixth-round knockout of Nestor Bravo last weekendand it seems that pound-for-pound legend Jones would enjoy that clash.

That is because Jones has told All The Smoke Boxing that Garcia-Cruz is a stylistically similar matchup to Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier.

“Ryan is the new Canelo – everybody wants to see Ryan.

“[Cruz] has the style – the perfect style – that you want to see against Ryan. Ryan’s a classic boxer-puncher; Pitbull is a brawler-puncher. That’s Ali and Frazier, almost.

“Who would not, on planet Earth, want to see that fight?”

While Cruz is, indeed, a tenacious brawler-puncher, the 5ft 4in super-lightweight would be contending with a glaring size disadvantage if he moves up to 147lbs and faces Garcia.

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Heavyweight Brothers Aim to Dominate Boxing Like the Klitschkos

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"Heavyweight Brothers Aim to Dominate Boxing Like the Klitschkos"

A pair of German prospects hope to follow in the footsteps of Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, who became the first brothers to simultaneously reign as world heavyweight champions.

The two highly-decorated Ukrainians achieved this feat between 2008 and 2013, after Vitali reclaimed his WBC title by dethroning Samuel Peter with an eighth-round finish.

‘Dr. Ironfist’ would then retire from the sport and pursue his political career, while Wladimir became the longest-reigning world heavyweight champion in history before losing to Tyson Fury in 2015.

While holding all four major titles between them, though, the Klitschko brothers established themselves as a dominant force and became mainstream celebrities in Germany.

Since then, the German boxing scene has struggled to generate such widespread attention but, now, over a decade later, Ismet Ademi (24) and Endrit Ademi (21) are bidding to emulate the Klitschko duo.

With seven national titles between them, the pair turned professional earlier this year and caught the eye of several promoters in the UK and US.

It can now be revealed, however, that the Ademi brothers have inked multi-year deals with Ringside Zone, who considers itself the leading boxing promotional outfit in Germany.

With Ismet returning to action on October 10, the 1-0 (1 KO) prospect explained that he and younger brother Endrit, 2-0 (2 KOs), would rather establish themselves on home soil than chase opportunities overseas.

“My brother and I had massive offers from abroad, but Germany is our home and this is where we want to build our legacy.

“Ringside Zone has already shown they can put German fighters in world title fights, and that mattered to us. We made a promise to each other years ago that we would become world champions together – signing here is another step toward keeping it.”

With lofty plans for the future, the Ademi brothers make for intriguing additions to the heavyweight scene as they aim to eventually reach world level and reach the heights that the Klitschko brothers once did.

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Muhammad Ali Names Boxings Greatest: He Was the Greatest

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"Muhammad Ali Names Boxing's Greatest: 'He Was the Greatest'"

Muhammad Ali once revealed who he believed to be the pound-for-pound greatest fighter of all time.

Ali is arguably the biggest name to ever grace boxing, becoming a global cultural figure not just for what he accomplished inside of the ring, but also for his activism efforts outside of it.

He was a three-time world heavyweight champion, and claimed wins in a number of epic battles, including the ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ against George Foremanand the ‘Thrilla In Manila’ against Joe Frazier.

Ali finished with a record of 56 wins from his 61 professional bouts, and despite all of his success, Ali conceded that another man ranked above him as the number one fighter in boxing history, admitting that he feels Sugar Ray Robinson is deserving of that honour.

“That man was beautiful. Timing, speed, reflexes, rhythm, his body, everything was beautiful.

“I’d say I’m the greatest heavyweight of all time, but pound-for-pound, I still say Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest of all time.”

Robinson competed professionally from 1940 to 1965, having a remarkable 201 fights during that time, winning 174 of them. At his peak, Robinson once had a record of 129 wins from 132 fights, with 85 of those wins coming by knockout.

He went on a 91-fight unbeaten streak during that time, as he held the world welterweight title for five years, before becoming world middleweight champion on multiple occasions.

Ali isn’t the only boxing legend that believes Robinson is the best ever, with fellow heavyweight icon Mike Tyson also sharing the same view.

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