What subsequent for Zuffa Boxing after UK debut? Dana White celebrates Bournemouth present and teases ‘massive bulletins’ forward

Even earlier than Chris Billam-Smith’s brutal battle with Ryan Rozicki and gruelling hometown victory, Dana White was already left ‘pumped’ by the early success of Zuffa Boxing’s first present on UK soil.

Zuffa Boxing 07 was the promotion’s first exterior of the USA, with these watching from a packed-out Bournemouth Worldwide Centre or dwell on Sky Sports activities handled to explosive knockouts, dramatic finishes and two ‘struggle of the yr’ contenders from the co-main occasions.

Alex MacMillan, Sam Hickey and Leon Hughes enhanced their credentials by all sustaining 100 per cent data as professionals with knockout victories, earlier than Stephen McKenna marked his return from a 539-day absence by taking simply 64 seconds to blast out his opponent.

Cheavon Clarke’s outstanding come-from-behind victory towards Jack Massey – the place he recovered from being knocked down twice within the fourth spherical to cease his compatriot within the seventh – seemed onerous to raised, just for Billam-Smith to beat Rozicki in a struggle White likened to a ‘Rocky film’.

“I’m never out to make a statement, I just want to put on great fights,” White mentioned in his post-show press convention. “After we go to a spot and folks purchase tickets and are available in dwell, and when folks watch on TV, I would like them to show their TV off or stroll out of the world glad they got here to the fights.

“I wish to construct belief again up with the followers that after we roll into city, or we’re on TV on Saturday evening or Sunday or each time we’re on, we’ll ship.

“Tonight was great. The UK runs boxing right now. For us to come into the UK and put on an event like tonight, we’re pretty pumped.”

Each Billam-Smith and Rozicki had been despatched to hospital as a precaution after their basic encounter, the place each traded heavy pictures and momentum swung each methods, with the bruising contest solely ending when the Canadian’s nook pulled him out on the finish of the seventh spherical.

“We know how talented CBS [Billam-Smith] is and we knew going in how tough and mean Rozicki was, so it had all the makings of a great fight,” White defined.

“In that sixth round in particular, Billam-Smith seemed to land an awful lot of blows to Rozicki. Was I surprised to see him [Rozicki] come back out? No, but I was happy to see his corner call.

“What a hell of a struggle. An unimaginable struggle from prime to backside, however the principle occasion was like a Rocky film.”

‘A variety of massive bulletins coming’ – what subsequent for Zuffa Boxing?

White – the long-serving figurehead of the UFC – and WWE president and TKO board member Nick Khan had been each ringside for Zuffa Boxing’s UK debut, with new signing Conor Benn and quite a few different British boxers additionally in attendance.

Zuffa Boxing already has three confirmed occasions over the approaching months, with Las Vegas (June 28) adopted by promotions in New York (July 26) and Dublin (August 8), with White confirming that additional reveals and signings are nonetheless to be introduced.

“Obviously I’m honoured that a lot of these guys showed up to watch our event,” White mentioned. “My goal is over the next couple of years to have everybody. Everybody.”

He later added: “I have been saying to all people, January 1st – decide us then on the work that we did this yr. We have lots of massive bulletins developing over the subsequent month, so you may anticipate a lot of massive issues coming from us.

“That’s what I want to do with the sport, not just a couple of shows. Great matchmaking, put on fight cards like tonight [Bournemouth] – that’s the goal.

“What begins to occur is as we rip the game aside and begin to construct from the bottom up with nights like tonight, it begins to create all these totally different storylines and begins to line up totally different fights. The followers and the media begin to speak about what they wish to see subsequent.

“We have a Sky deal, which is a very big deal to us, so we’ll be in the UK a lot. We’re five months into this thing and we’re already adding more shows on our Paramount deal and I hope the same thing happens with Sky.”

White performed down any suggestion of a future head-to-head present with rival promoters, like these created between Queensberry and Matchroom fighters, though he stays open to exploring new methods to proceed their progress in boxing and compete with sports activities’ greatest leagues.

“Without sounding too arrogant, people always ask me about ‘oh, you’re competing with this guy’. At the level that we’re at, we’re competing with the NFL, we’re competing with the NBA, we’re competing with Major League Baseball and with the NHL,” White insisted.

“In the United States, the powerhouse over there is the NFL. When you go outside the United States, you start competing with soccer. When I think about my competition, those are the people that I’m looking at as competition these days.”

Zuffa Boxing delivered a card that supplied every little thing they got down to obtain, with lots extra to come back.

Zuffa Boxing reveals are scheduled in Las Vegas on June 28 and New York on July 26 forward of their first Irish present in Dublin on August 8, with all three dwell and unique within the UK and Eire on Sky Sports activities. Get Sky Sports activities or stream boxing with no contract.