NEW YORK — Before launching in London, MF Pro made a media stop Monday in New York.
The company is an offshoot of the influencer-based Misfits Boxing, which was founded in 2021 by streamer KSI and his manager Mams Taylor, plus veteran boxing promoters Kalle and Nisse Sauerland. MF Pro is getting serious about traditional boxing. The job of helping bridge the gap between influencer boxing and the more mainstream sweet science falls on Amer Abdallah, MF Pro President and former kickboxing champion.
MF Pro will have its launch event on April 4, when former WBC heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder faces Derek Chisora at London’s O2 Arena. The promotion kicked off with a face-off in New York’s Times Square and interviews with reporters before traveling to London for a press conference. The card will be streamed live on DAZN, which agreed to a “long-term broadcast deal” with the company.
Abdallah says their first headlining fight sends a strong message for the company.
“Our first event that we're launching is probably the funnest fight in boxing,” said Abdallah. “Very easy fight to put together. Both guys wanted the fight. I have a great relationship with both guys. They’re both friends of mine, and it was kind of like a casual conversation: ‘This is what we've got. This is the date you want to go. Sure you want to go, absolutely, let's go.’ And it got put together.”
While the London-based company is kicking off in London, the Las Vegas-based Abdallah says MF Pro has “a big event” planned for Asia, and hopes to be able to announce United States cards by the middle of 2026.
Anchoring the company are a set of prospects whom Abdallah believes can develop into the talent of the future. Among them is Viddal Riley, a 28-year-old cruiserweight from London, whom Abdallah first met at the Mayweather Gym in Las Vegas. Riley, then an amateur, had been trying to spar Abdallah's boxer, former three-division champion Badou Jack, before getting in the ring with another pro, cruiserweight Andrew Tabiti, and impressing Abdallah. Riley is 13-0 (7 KOs) and holds the British cruiserweight title.
Other prospects that they’re building around include Amir Anderson, a 6-0 (6 KOs), a 22-year-old middleweight prospect from Syracuse, New York, who won the 2023 National Golden Gloves; and David “Dynamite” Lopez, a 21-year-old welterweight from Oakland, California, with an 8-0 (6 KOs) record.
“I know Amir [Anderson] because we promote shows in the Syracuse area, and Amir was always one of those names that was up and coming,” said Abdallah. “Seeing how this kid moves, first of all, his work ethic is unmatched. Chris Burns, his trainer, will say the same thing. The guy just lives in the gym. He eats boxing, dies boxing, lives boxing. Everything in his life is based on the sport. You need that in a prospect.”
Abdallah says that Lopez was first put on his radar by his co-manager Alonzo Benezra. The southpaw prospect – who first garnered attention as a child after impressing former world champion Andre Ward in sparring – has also impressed Abdallah in and out of the ring.
“I started looking into the kid, and I was like, ‘Man, this kid is special, strong, fast, great agility, great lateral movement, knows how to jab, and the kid can speak great.’ I talked to his father the other day or a couple weeks back, and I said, ‘Is he OK under the microphone? Is he OK under the lights?’ He goes, ‘Have you ever seen him speak?’ It's been a while since I’ve seen any interviews, but the kid is the full package. I think he’ll do a lot of damage in terms of contention.”
Rather than trying to dominate the boxing landscape, Abdallah says MF Pro’s vision is to collaborate with others on events. He points to Wilder-Chisora, a co-promotion with Queensberry Promotions, which promotes Chisora, as evidence of this intent. He feels this is the time for promoters to work together, instead of hunkering down and being isolationists.
“The problem with boxing today is it’s so fragmented. When we started in Saudi Arabia with boxing, our goal was to unite boxing. Like I said in another interview, fight promoters are always going to be competing for the next fighter, competing for the network, competing for the dates, the sponsorships, whatever it may be. But when boxing can unite, and you can have all the six or seven major promoters working together cohesively to put on the biggest fights, that's when the sport can move forward,” said Abdallah.
“The UFC model works because it's one promoter, one network, one champion, and they can have the best fight the best, and you keep moving forward. Now, whether you agree with it or not, that's not the point. The point being that you always see the best guys fighting each other, and records become almost obsolete. You can have a world champion UFC guy be 16-5 where in boxing, one loss, boxing fans are very unforgiving when it comes to that.
“And I blame Floyd [Mayweather] for that. He really promoted that ‘0’ as such a big thing, and now fighters are afraid to lose that 0 because of what Floyd was able to do with it, which was historic. But with boxing, I think what our mission is is to unite the promoters, to be able to put on great fights together, be able to unify the sport together, because boxing needs it today.”
