Tim Bradley Predicts Zuffa Boxing Could Change the Sport

Former champion believes Dana White’s venture could create a UFC-style system in boxing

Tim Bradley says the launch of Zuffa Boxing could eventually change how the sport operates.
The former two-division champion believes the venture could push boxing toward a UFC-style structure.

Bradley argued that the group connected to Dana White and the ownership behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship may attempt to build a system closer to mixed martial arts, where a single promotion controls much of the available talent.

“Ten years from now, it’s going to be just like the damn UFC,” Bradley said on his YouTube site about the growing influence of companies entering boxing from outside the sport’s traditional promotional structure.

Zuffa Boxing has been introduced as a venture connected to TKO Group Holdings, the parent company that oversees the UFC and WWE. The project has drawn attention inside the sport because the UFC operates with a centralized promotional system, a structure very different from boxing’s current model, in which fighters sign with separate promoters and compete under multiple sanctioning bodies.

IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia is among the fighters who have already aligned with the venture and is scheduled to headline one of its early events, an example of how established fighters are willing to test the model.

Bradley said a well-funded organization with existing infrastructure could attract fighters once their current promotional agreements expire. He pointed to the training facilities, medical services, and other resources already used in mixed martial arts as examples of the support a large organization can offer athletes.

During the discussion, Bradley also argued that wealthy investors entering boxing may view lawsuits or financial disputes as manageable costs while attempting to build a large promotion.

Bradley said boxing could eventually resemble mixed martial arts if one company begins signing large numbers of fighters.

Tim’s comments touched on a question that has circulated around boxing for years: whether one promotion could ever control most of the sport’s top fighters.