HOW ZUFFA BOXING CAN BECOME ONE OF THE BIG BOYS OF BRITISH BOXING

Zuffa Boxing enters the UK market for the first time this weekend as former world champion Chris Billam-Smith faces the hard-hitting Canadian Ryan Rozicki on home soil in Bournemouth on Saturday night.

It will be Zuffa's seventh show since the start of the year as they look to continue their journey towards becoming one of the biggest boxing promotions in the world and begin their quest to one day become one of the biggest boxing promotions in the UK.

But how will they do that?

In this article, we'll be taking a look at the current landscape of British boxing and how Zuffa can make a name for itself in an already saturated market.

A stalwart of British boxing, Frank Warren has dominated the sport on these shores for the past 30 years. However, over the past decade, Warren has been joined at the top of the British boxing tree by Eddie Hearn.

For the majority of the past decade, Hearn and Warren have battled it out in one of the fiercest rivalries in boxing.

The pair were embroiled in a back-and-forth feud for many years without even meeting face-to-face.

However, largely due to the influence of Turki Alalshikh, the pair have started working together over the past few years, which has resulted in some of the best fights of the decade, with the likes of Callum Smith vs Joshua Buatsi and, finally, Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua being made for the end of this year.

So, just how will Zuffa Boxing fit into a world dominated by two men?

Well, to start with, they've got off on the right foot by securing a broadcast deal with the biggest sports broadcaster in the UK, Sky Sports.

Both Warren and Hearn have had deals with Sky in the past, and both partnerships have helped shape British boxing into what it is today, so it's no surprise to see Zuffa and Sky join forces.

With a broadcast deal, though, you need the stars.

The two biggest stars in British boxing right now are Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. They both have deals with Warren and Hearn respectively, so both of them are a non-starter.

Next in line are probably Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr, who battled it out in two stadium fights last year.

Zuffa have already secured a long-term deal with Benn, so there's one of the top five superstars of British boxing ticked off. With relations between Eubank and his promoter, Boxxer, seemingly strained, he could well be a target for them in 2026.

If they did manage to secure the signing of Eubank, it would open the door to a potential trilogy fight between Eubank and Benn.

The appeal of that fight, at any weight above middleweight, will always be there, so that may be an easy route for Zuffa into a huge stadium fight in the UK, despite Benn now campaigning at welterweight.

The issue they will have is that many of the big names beyond Eubank and Benn, such as Daniel Dubois, Dalton Smith, Moses Itauma, Jack Catterall and Fabio Wardley, are all tied down to deals with Warren or Hearn.

Dana White has already built up a fairly intense rivalry with Warren and, especially, Hearn, so if those two are reluctant to work with Dana in any way, shape or form, it's going to be a serious problem for Zuffa.

Another option they have is to ride the wave and wait for some of these deals to expire.

The big one, undoubtedly, is Moses Itauma.

He is widely regarded as the future of the heavyweight division and a fighter who could dominate boxing's most exciting weight class for many years to come.

The issue for Zuffa is that he signed a long-term deal with Queensberry just 18 months ago.

If they wait for that deal to expire, it's going to take one heck of an offer to lure Itauma away from Queensberry, especially considering that Queensberry and the Warrens invested in him at such a young age. Given the person he appears to be, Itauma will likely show considerable loyalty to them.

Another one is Ben Whittaker. One of the most outspoken and controversial figures in world boxing already, he’s already seen as a global star in the coming years. Like Itauma though, he’s recently signed a long-term deal with his current promoter Eddie Hearn.

IF he did become available though, he’d be a perfect fit. He’s set to make his US debut on the Zayas/Ennis undercard later this month and he’s the sort of fighter that the American audience will love so IF, down the line, Zuffa could get him on board, that would be one heck of a statement.

An area where Zuffa may be a step ahead of many, however, is Irish boxing.

Super-welterweight star Callum Walsh has been under Dana White's tutelage for many years now and looks set to headline Zuffa's first show in Ireland in early August.

Alongside him, it is rumoured that Zuffa will soon announce the signing of Aaron McKenna. McKenna has been ordered to face Italy's Etinosa Oliha for the vacant IBF World Middleweight Title, a fight that is rumoured to take place on Zuffa's first show in Ireland alongside Walsh's bout.

Despite Walsh campaigning at super-welterweight and McKenna at middleweight, a fight between the pair already looks, on paper, capable of selling out a stadium, especially if a world title is on the line.

There has been no secret made of the fact that if Zuffa Boxing are going to establish themselves as a major player not just in British boxing but in world boxing, they are more than likely going to have to get the chequebook out and pay over the odds for a lot of fighters.

It took a monster deal for Conor Benn to turn his back on Eddie Hearn and Matchroom, and with Zuffa set to announce the signing of four-weight world champion Shakur Stevenson, they may have to bide their time and wait for the right fighters, even if it means paying a premium.

Many have tried to disrupt the Warren-Hearn dominance of British boxing and many have failed, but if Zuffa go about things the right way, they may well have the best chance yet of turning the "Big Two" into the "Big Three" in British boxing.