“I had deals from different people. I had deals from DAZN, the network itself. Golden Boy, we spoke to. Top Rank was reaching out. I also was in talks about signing back with Eddie, but it didn’t get to happen,” said Hitchins to Mr. Verzace.

Zuffa ultimately separated itself from the competition with both its financial offer and its long-term vision for his career.

“To be sincere, Zuffa gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse. A lot of zeros,” Hitchins said. “They see my career the way I see it for myself.”

Hitchins explained that one of his biggest frustrations during his time with previous promoters at Matchroom was never being allowed to establish himself in his home market despite being one of Modern York’s top fighters.

“Being in a meeting with Dana White and Nick Khan, I was vocal and see-through about how I never really got promoted the way I wanted to get promoted,” Hitchins said. “You see a lot of fighters like Shakur Stevenson when they were coming up, they’d be fighting a lot on the East Coast. Boots Ennis is always on the East Coast, Philly, Atlantic City.”

“I felt like when I was with different promoters, they had me all around the United States, but never really home, around the tri-state area to build my name. Zuffa gave me their word to lend a hand me build my name, especially around my home area and eventually around the world.”

Hitchins acknowledged that Matchroom attempted to repair the relationship before he entered free agency, but negotiations ultimately stalled after a planned January bout against Jermaine Ortiz was scrapped and another proposed fight with Oscar Duarte never materialized.

“We tried to reconcile,” Hitchins said. “We spoke. We sat down. We was in agreement, and things kind of got weird.”

Hitchins will make his Zuffa Boxing debut on July 26 when he faces Ricardo Salas at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in Modern York. The bout marks his first appearance since moving up to the welterweight division after vacating the IBF airy welterweight title.

With Dana White and Nick Khan promising to build the promotion around recognizable stars, Hitchins believes the move finally gives him the opportunity to become a major attraction in the city where his professional career began.

The latest rankings leave Emiliano (18-0, 15 KOs) as the organization’s highest-rated available contender behind the champion.

The son of former world champion Fernando Vargas has built his reputation with an aggressive, fan-friendly style and knockout power, stopping 15 of his 18 opponents. His most recent victory came last Saturday, when he halted Bryce Mills in four rounds, continuing the momentum that has carried him steadily up the rankings.

While becoming the WBO’s No. 1 contender does not automatically guarantee an immediate title shot, it places Vargas in prime position should the organization decide to enforce a mandatory defense or if Shakur elects to face the unbeaten contender. Shakur won the WBO delicate welterweight title by defeating Teofimo Lopez in January and has since become one of boxing’s biggest names across four weight classes.

For Vargas, the timing could hardly be better.

At just 22 years ancient, he is still one of the youngest contenders in the division, yet his ranking now puts him alongside established championship-level names. A fight with Shakur would represent a massive leap in competition, but it would also provide the kind of career-defining opportunity few prospects receive this early.

Top Rank could choose to give Vargas another developmental fight before matching him with Stevenson. At 22, Vargas has plenty of time, and a title fight against one of boxing’s most technically skilled champions would represent a significant jump in class.

Still, Vargas has already cleared one of the biggest hurdles in boxing.

Vargas has now climbed as high as he can in the WBO rankings without holding the title. If Stevenson fulfills his obligations as champion and the WBO orders a mandatory defense, Vargas is now in position to be called.

“I can tell you that Dana White wasn’t there. I can tell you that Nick Khan did speak to these individuals. I do not know why a group picture wasn’t taken,” Helwani said on his AH Show. “From what I understand, there was a group discussion.”

The comments came after Turki initially included Zuffa among the companies represented at the meeting before editing his post to remove the name. When EverythingBoxing’s Darshan Desai questioned the change on X, Turki responded by saying he owns 60 percent of Zuffa and serves as chairman of its board before adding, “Give the phone back to Helwani.”

Helwani dismissed the suggestion that he had any involvement in Desai’s reporting.

“I’ve never told Darshan to write anything. Absolutely absurd,” Helwani said. “I’ve never told anyone to write anything or not write something… certainly not on Twitter.”

He added that he was surprised to be mentioned at all.

“I’m not really sure what the beef is with me,” said Helwani about Turki,

Helwani also offered his own assessment of the summit, questioning whether the rival promoters involved are genuinely interested in ending the public dispute that has dominated boxing in recent weeks.

I had a productive meeting yesterday with all interested parties in terms of the overall state of boxing. We can collectively grow this great sport to the benefit of the fighters, the sport and its fans globally. You haen’t seen anything yet!💪🏻🥊❤️🙏🏻

— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) July 1, 2026

“Does anyone think that Nick Khan, Eddie Hearn, Frank Warren, Spencer Brown, any of these people, are any of them looking for peace?” Helwani asked. “It seems like the only one who is actually pushing for this is Turki.”

Rather than seeing the meeting as a sign that tensions have eased, Helwani believes many of the sport’s power brokers still relish the competition.

“It doesn’t seem like the people involved in this picture are actually wanting peace.”

Turki has yet to reveal whether any formal agreements emerged from the meeting, saying only that discussions lasted more than four hours and hinting that “substantial surprises” are still to come.

Turki Alalshikh hosted substantial meetings with major boxing figures in London today ‼️ pic.twitter.com/LkvflA3leA

— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) June 30, 2026