- Unbeaten London cruiserweight Lucas Roehrig, 23, has signed a promotional deal with Zuffa Boxing and will fight on Sky Sports
- Roehrig is 9-0 with five stoppages, is trained by former world champion George Groves, and returns at the Copper Box on November 7
- He joins a Zuffa cruiserweight stable that includes Jai Opetaia and Chris Billam-Smith, and says he wants to fight other unbeaten prospects
Zuffa Add Another British Prospect
Right then. Zuffa Boxing have been busy in the UK and they have just added one of the better young cruiserweights in the country. Lucas Roehrig has signed a promotional deal with the outfit and will fight on Sky Sports, starting at the Copper Box Arena on November 7 on the Zuffa Boxing 12 card.
Lucas Roehrig is 23, he is 9-0 with five wins inside the distance, and he is trained and managed by former super middleweight world champion George Groves. He debuted in 2024 by stopping a former English champion in three rounds, which tells you how his team have thought about his career from day one. Nobody has been wrapping this lad in cotton wool.
He Has Done The Small Halls
What I like about Roehrig is that he has not skipped anything. He has boxed on Sky shows and on other platforms, but he has also done the York Hall nights, the away corners and the six-rounders against opponents with winning records. His last two fights were back-to-back stoppages at York Hall. Last year he shut out an American prospect over six rounds.
He said it himself to Sky Sports News: he has been through the levels and has not skipped a step. That matters. The kids who get fast-tracked on big bills often find out in their first real fight that they have never been in trouble. Lucas Roehrig has at least been made to work.
The Groves Factor
Groves has been one of the sharpest voices in British boxing this year. He was brutally honest about Moses Itauma's gas tank only this week. If he is putting his name behind Roehrig this publicly, he believes the kid is a proper fighter. Groves knows what it takes at world level better than most, because he won a world title the hard way after three losses to the very best of his era.
A Crowded Cruiserweight Stable
Here is where it gets interesting. Zuffa already have Jai Opetaia, Chris Billam-Smith and Ryan Rozicki at cruiserweight. That is a serious stable. Roehrig is not going to be fast-tracked into any of those names, and nor should he be. What he gets is a clear ladder to climb, and a promoter with plenty of other unbeaten prospects he can be matched with.
Roehrig said exactly that. He wants to fight other prospects, he wants the Zuffa belt, and he wants world titles. He also said he is going to take risks. Let's not beat around the bush: every young fighter says that on signing day. Very few of them mean it.
The Verdict
I rate Lucas Roehrig. He has good fundamentals, he has a world-class brain in his corner, and he has been matched sensibly without being protected. I expect him to win on November 7 and I expect it to be inside the distance. Make no mistake, though, the real test is 2027. If Zuffa put him in with another unbeaten cruiserweight by the middle of next year and he wins, he announces himself. If they spend the next twelve months feeding him journeymen, we will know the risk talk was just talk. My prediction: Roehrig is in a British or European-level fight within twelve months and he wins it.