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Light heavyweight contender Joshua Buatsi is Queensberry bound.
Buatsi is expected to depart from Ben Shalom’s BOXXER and finalize a promotional deal with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions this week, sources close to the situation told Uncrowned.
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The London-based former WBO interim champion previously left Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing to sign with BOXXER in 2023. The move was the subject of a £7.7 million ($9.5 million) high court battle after Matchroom alleged that BOXXER and Sky Sports had persuaded Buatsi to unlawfully abandon his exclusive promotional contract with them. The lawsuit resulted in the respective parties reaching a settlement earlier this year.
Per court documents obtained by Uncrowned, Buatsi was offered an 18-month agreement with BOXXER for a minimum of four bouts with a minimum total aggregate purse between £3.25 million ($4.05 million) and £3.75 million ($4.68 million). Buatsi had his fourth contest with BOXXER when he dropped his WBO interim title to Callum Smith this past February on the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev 2 undercard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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Buatsi’s departure from BOXXER is expected to be the first of many fighters exiting the promotional group after Sky Sports chose not to renew its four-year, £36 million ($45.5 million) agreement with the British promoter.
Uncrowned understands that talks have taken place between BOXXER and the BBC to broadcast shows on iPlayer, although if a deal were to be reached, it would be significantly smaller than the one BOXXER had with Sky.
BOXXER’s primary rivals, Matchroom and Queensberry, have existing output agreements with streaming service DAZN.
Queensberry also promotes Anthony Yarde, who challenges David Benavidez for the WBC light heavyweight title in November. A Buatsi vs. Yarde fight has been desired by British fans for the better part of the past decade, though an agreement for the matchup has yet to materialize.