Boxxer have launched legal action against Dana White’s rival boxing start-up Zuffa over claims they poached fighters slated to appear on a card in Bournemouth on Saturday.

Daily Mail Sport can reveal the row centres on the involvement of former world champion Chris Billam-Smith and 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sam Hickey, with Boxxer adamant they remain under contract to their stable.

The promotional outfit, which is fronted by Ben Shalom, is pursuing ‘injunctive relief’ through the courts against both Zuffa and Sky Sports, who are broadcasting the event. Billam-Smith’s bout with Ryan Rozicki is the headline act and Hickey is on the undercard.

A Boxxer statement released to Daily Mail Sport read: ‘BOXXER can confirm it is seeking urgent injunctive relief against Zuffa Boxing and Sky Sports concerning the promotion and proposed participation of fighters who remain subject to binding contractual obligations to BOXXER.’

The statement added: ‘BOXXER believes that all parties involved are fully aware of the contractual obligations owed to BOXXER by the fighters being promoted for Saturday's event. Despite this, those fighters continue to be advertised and promoted without BOXXER's consent.

‘As a result of the conduct it has witnessed in recent months, BOXXER has been left with no option but to seek further relief from the English courts.

‘Its application seeks orders to prevent further interference with BOXXER's contractual rights and business relationships and to prevent the use of fighters who remain under binding agreements with BOXXER until those contractual issues are resolved.’

Billam-Smith, who won the WBO cruiserweight world title as a Boxxer fighter in 2023, has previously stated his deal with Shalom expired at the end of 2025. 

It was then announced in April that he had signed a multi-fight deal with Zuffa, led by UFC chief White and backed by Saudi Arabian funding on an ambitious play to corner the global boxing market.

Boxxer’s argument is understood to be rooted in a claim that Billam-Smith’s new arrangement fell within a period when they had matching rights on any offer. 

Their contention on Hickey is that he was still under contract when he signed with Zuffa last month.

Zuffa and Sky Sports declined to comment.

Boxxer, whose output is broadcast on the BBC, were previously tied to a four-year deal with Sky Sports. Sky opted against extending that partnership in June 2025 and penned a long-term contract with Zuffa earlier this year.