After threatening for the better part of decade, the UFC’s Dana White will finally debut his boxing company Zuffa Boxing this upcoming Friday, January 23rd. The fight card will take place in the newly renamed Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will be broadcast live on the Paramount+ app.
The debut has not come with its fair share of controversy. The biggest being White’s attempt to change the Muhammad Ali Act. The act is a federal law that protects professional boxers by ensuring transparency in contracts and finances and by limiting the power of promoters to exploit fighters.
One way the act stops promotors from taking advantage of fighters is by making it illegal for promotors to rank fighters and have them fight for a belt of their design. Because of that, although in their own way corrupt, makes the sanctioning bodies a necessary evil.
The act does not exist in MMA.
White and his cohorts tried to do away with the act as we know it but it has faced significant opposition from many in boxing and as of right now it still has a way to go become a law.
Despite of the criticism, White is moving ahead with his company and now its debut. White is not starting from scratch. Although it has not been made all that public, it is known in boxing circles he bought out Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions. Now Loeffler along with his staff and some of the fighters of his stable have been enveloped into Zuffa Boxing.
Tom Loeffler is a longtime boxing promotor best known for guiding the careers of elite fighters like Gennady Golovkin and four founding K2 Promotions with the Klitschko brothers, playing a major role in bringing international stars to the U.S. market.
In Zuffa Boxing’s debut main event, the undefeated Irish up and coming prospect Callum Walsh (15-0, 11KO) will take on his biggest test in Mexican Carlos “Chema” Ocampo (38-3, 26KO) in a middleweight ten rounder. Walsh is coming off a unanimous decision over Fernando Vargas Jr, son of the former jr. middleweight champion on the Terence Crawford vs Saul Alvarez under card. Ocampo of Ensenada, a coastal town about 100 miles of San Diego, is a three-time world title challenger coming up short against Errol Spence, Sebastian Fundora and Tim Tszyu.
Also on the televised fight card will be 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Misael Rodriguez (15-0, 7KO) of Mexico as he takes on fellow undefeated Austin Deanda (17-0, 11KO) in another ten round middleweight bout and super lightweight Cain Sandoval (17-0, 15KO) steps up against Julian Rodriguez (24-1, 15KO) for ten rounds.
Walsh and Sandoval were developed by Loeffler.
Recently it was announced the current IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia signed with Zuffa while it is rumored Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela, Efe Ajagba and Charles Martin among others are soon to follow.
