Zuffa Boxing 12 Returns to England Saturday

What to Know

• Zuffa Boxing 12 returns to the Copper Box Arena in London for its fourth UK card on Saturday, November 7.
• British cruiserweights Chris Billam-Smith and Chev Clarked headline Zuffa Boxing 12.
• American Shane Mosley Jr. crosses the pond to face Denzel Bentley in the middleweight division, joined by Florida’s heavyweight prospect Da’Mazion Vanhouter.
• The Zuffa Boxing 12 card airs on Paramount+ with prelims at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT, and the main card at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT.

Zuffa Boxing staged its first six cards after its launch at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, a small venue and a reasonable choice as the promotion settled into its new venture.

Since then, four of its six numbered cards, including Saturday’s event, have taken place in Great Britain.

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Zuffa Boxing 12 is getting comfortable at the Copper Box Arena in London, returning for its second straight card there in London on Saturday. While the card is loaded with British talent for home fans, two Americans and a U.S.-based Austrian are worth watching.

Billam-Smith vs Clarke: A Rematch Ten Years In The Making

Former amateur foes Chris Billam-Smith and Chev Clarke will see how things look ten years later. Photo: Zuffa Boxing

Former light heavyweight champion Chris Billam-Smith (22-2, 14 KOs) has a score to settle in a rematch with British Olympian Chev Clarke (12-2, 9 KOs). The pair met for the British amateur championship ten years ago, with Clarke getting the better of Billam-Smith.

“Me and Chev competing for the amateur elite national final title that means so much to all the amateur fighters. I think it’s like the equivalent of the Golden Gloves in the States, so it’s a fight I really, really wanted to win, and really thought I would,” recalls Billam-Smith.

“But he got the nod that day, and that helps add a little bit of spice to this fight because the 36-year-old me now gets to do 26-year-old me a favor and show him how much I’ve improved over the years and basically get one back for younger me.”

Billam-Smith is coming off a bruising fight against Ryan Rosicki of Canada, with both showing their grit before Rosicki’s corner pulled their man out after the seventh round.

Clarke showed his own kind of grit in his last fight. He had to climb up off the canvas twice before eventually stopping former world title challenger Jack Massey with a crowd-pleasing knockout win.

Clarke doesn’t think their fight a decade ago will influence Saturday’s rematch, as both are different competitors today.

“I think we’re different human beings now,” Clarke said. “He’s a dad. He’s been a former world champion. I became the best [amateur] heavyweight that Great Britain’s ever had, and weirdly, we’re back here now. So, you know, it’s just horses for courses, and it’s a full-circle moment.”

Denzel Bentley and Shane Mosley Jr. Meet In Co-Main

Denzel Bentley made the call to leave Queensberry Promotions for Zuffa Boxing. Was it at the expense of his WBO World Middleweight title? Graphic: Zuffa Boxing.

Coming off a sensational performance against Serhii Bohachuk, Shane Mosley Jr. of Las Vegas wants to prove it wasn’t a fluke. Mosley Jr. (23-5, 13 KOs) will challenge Denzel Bentley of London (22-3-1, 18 KOs).

The fight was originally for Bentley’s WBO Interim Middleweight title, but the WBO has stripped Bentley of the belt after declining a fight with mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez. Bentley has blown it off, calling the decision a political one. He isn’t the first Zuffa fighter to tangle with a sanctioning body.

Mosley says that while Bentley isn’t a champion on paper, he says technically to him it’s a title fight.

“I still view him as a champion. Zuffa wanted me to fight a champion. I’m here. Everybody was willing. Just the sanctioning bodies, unfortunately, don’t have it as a championship fight. So, with that being said, this to me is a championship fight. Mosley called Bentley a great opponent and worthy of being a champion.

With a win, Mosley is looking ahead to a great 2027. “There’s a lot of great opportunities out there,” he explained. “Champions – Zuffa has two of them – and there’s other opportunities that we can also do outside of that, so there’s a lot of great things.”

Light Heavyweight Last Stand for Parker

Zach Parker of Derbyshire (26-2, 18 KOs) looks for a win after losing a narrow majority decision to Joshua Buatsi. But he’ll have to do it against surging and undefeated Umar Dzambekov of Los Angeles (14-0, 10 KOs) in a scheduled ten-round light heavyweight bout.

Dzambekov is a native of Austria, and his goal is to become Austria’s first world champion in boxing. He wowed the crowd at the Meta Apex with a sizzling second-round knockout over Ahmed Elbiali in February. Parker knows his career ambitions will take a big hit if he takes a big hit from Dzambekov.

Three KO King of Zuffa Boxing 12 Returns

Da’Mazion Vanhouter of St. Petersburg, Florida (13-0, 10 KOs) is the only person on the Zuffa Boxing roster with three knockout wins under the Zuffa banner. The impressive young American heavyweight goes for four against Ivan Balaz of Czechia (9-1, 7 KOs) whose only loss came to Johnny Fisher last December.

It’s hard not to picture Da’Mazion Vanhouter as a future American heavyweight champion. But give the 21-year-old time. Photo: Zuffa Boxing

“I know (Balaz) fought Johnny Fisher and that he has a good record. I don’t focus on that,” said Vanhouter “I just focus on who they give me. They worry about that stuff. Just tell me who I’m fighting.”

After a serious drought in championship-level heavyweight talent since the emergence of Deontay Wilder nearly 20 years ago, it’s hard not to get your hopes up watching Vanhouter perform. But it’s worth repeating that he is only 21 years old. Vanhouter has only gone more than four rounds twice, so be sure you don’t tune in late.

Super lightweight Kayla Allen of London returns for her second pro fight against Julia Igel of Belgium (5-2, 4 KOs).

 

 

 

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