Carlos Adames joins Zuffa Boxing, giving Dana White three middleweight champions

Adames signs with Zuffa, cementing middleweight control

WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames has signed a multi-fight promotional contract with Zuffa Boxing, giving Dana White's promotion three of the four reigning middleweight world champions alongside IBF titleholder Aaron McKenna and WBO champion Denzel Bentley. Adames, 25-1 with a draw and 18 knockouts, is The Ring's No. 1-ranked middleweight in the world and is coming off a unanimous decision over Austin Williams in March that secured his third title defense.

"This is a new chapter in my career, and I'm here to make history," Adames said. "Zuffa Boxing is building something special, and I want to be part of it." Information on his next fight under the Zuffa Boxing banner is expected to follow shortly.

The WBC has ordered Adames to defend against Meiirim Nursultanov, with the two sides given until October 20 to reach a deal before purse bids are called. Bentley, meanwhile, is expected to be formally stripped of his belt after bypassing mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez to face Shane Mosley Jr. on November 7 at Zuffa Boxing 12.

Dubois and Wardley run it back at the O2, Tszyu gets his shot

Daniel Dubois defends his WBO heavyweight title against Fabio Wardley on Saturday at London's O2 Arena in their rematch.

Tim Tszyu, 28-3, is officially set to challenge WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara, 32-3 with three draws, in Australia in late November. No Limit Boxing confirmed the matchup Tuesday, with Gold Coast the leading candidate for a venue still to be finalized. Lara, 43, is boxing's oldest reigning champion and has held the belt since 2021.

Wardley, ahead of Saturday's fight, played down the punishment he absorbed in May. "I've had worse moments walking around the house and stepping on a plug," he told DAZN. He told The Ring that review of the tape left him convinced his mistakes were fixable rather than cause for anger, and he pushed back on Derek Chisora's suggestion that this could be his last fight, telling talkSPORT, "I don't ever put a lot of stock in what he says to the media to be honest."

Women's card in Arlington gets a new co-main after injury

MVPW-07 on November 8 in Arlington has a reshuffled co-main event after Ellie Scotney withdrew injured. Ramla Ali now faces undefeated Mikiah Kreps for the vacant WBO and IBF women's junior featherweight titles.

Elsewhere on the card, Irma Garcia and Nataly Delgado unify the IBF and WBA titles at 115 pounds, and Alycia Baumgardner headlines against Elif Nur Turhan for the IBF lightweight belt.

Inoue-Rodriguez superfight wobbles over scheduling

Naoya Inoue's proposed superfight with Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez is in doubt after Inoue posted on X, "I'm not going to sit around waiting for Bam, so I'm starting prep for featherweight too." Rodriguez's trainer Robert Garcia wants Bam to take another fight at bantamweight before moving up to challenge Inoue at 122 pounds, and favors May 2027.

Eddie Hearn, who promotes Rodriguez, says he remains willing and ready to make the fight, but that does not resolve the standoff, since the teams still must agree on timing and Garcia is comfortable prepping Bam for his own date rather than Inoue's.

Zuffa's growth strategy draws skepticism from Spencer Brown

Spencer Brown told The Ariel Helwani Show that building a roster fighter by fighter takes years because most top fighters are already under contract elsewhere, suggesting "the only way I think they could do it's possibly going around buying companies."

The article argues that buying a promoter is not like buying a factory, since the assets are promotional contracts with expiration dates and termination clauses that can let fighters walk under the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. Brown also said Tyson Fury believes Zuffa's approach will work.

Romero sparred champions in Montreal before Las Vegas bout

Marco Romero, 15-0 with 13 knockouts, faces Braulio Ferreira, 8-3, on Saturday's PBC card at The Cosmopolitan, undercard to Sebastian Fundora's WBC super welterweight title defense against Ermal Hadribej.

Romero spent two weeks in Montreal sparring 40 rounds with IBF super middleweight champion Osleys Iglesias and WBC champion Christian Mbilli ahead of the fight.