On the eve of the Zuffa Boxing 7 show Saturday in Bournemouth, England, BOXXER has filed a lawsuit claiming Zuffa Boxing poached two of the fighters who’ll be featured, Chris Billam-Smith and Sam Hickey, while they were still under contract with the Ben Shalom-fronted company.

The Daily Mail revealed the development on Friday and reported that BOXXER is pursuing “urgent injunctive relief” through the English courts against Zuffa Boxing and Sky Sports, which is broadcasting the event across the UK and Ireland.

While Zuffa and Sky Sports declined to comment to Daily Mail, the publication obtained a statement from BOXXER.

“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.

“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.”

Zuffa Boxing announced the signing of Billam-Smith (21-2, 13 KOs), a former cruiserweight titleholder, on April 13 and set him up to headline against Ryan Rozicki.

Billam-Smith has claimed his contract with BOXXER expired at the end of 2025, while it claims matching rights on any offer within a period.

Zuffa Boxing announced the signing of Hickey (4-0, 1 KO) on May 24, and the Scottish middleweight prospect is set to face Todd Tompkins in a six-rounder.

BOXXER’s decision to pursue legal action shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Shalom voiced his concerns in a recent interview with Seconds Out.

“I think they see me and they think ‘Oh, he’s a nice guy, he’s not going to do anything,’” said Shalom. “You can’t just go in and ignore that fighters are under contract and being paid by another promoter. Look, I know we’re in the world of [Donald] Trump and in the world of this and the world of that, but there’s still some sort of business practice.

“They ignored that we had a matching right on Chris Billam-Smith, completely, not just a matching right but an exclusive negotiation period. They’re ignoring that other fighters on that fight [card] are actually completely under contract. What are you supposed to do? It’s crazy, to be honest. Thankfully we live in a country where you can’t do those types of things.”

BOXXER now stages its shows on BBC after its four-year broadcast deal with Sky Sports expired last year.

In recent months, Sky Sports has instead opted for broadcast deals with Zuffa Boxing and Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions.

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan