Undefeated Albanian welterweight, Florian Marku has signed a long-term promotional deal with BOXXER.
Marku (10-0-1, 6 KOs) initially signed a multi-fight deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing in November 2020, but returned to Ben Shalom’s BOXXER and Sky Sports in November with a points win over Jorick Luisetto.
The popular former four-time world kickboxing champion, who recently announced Grant Smith as his new trainer after a spell with Clifton Mitchell, is ranked at #13 by IBF behind world champion, Errol Spence Jr and has put the division on notice.
“I’m delighted to sign an exclusive long term deal with Boxxer,” the 29-year-old said.
“I want to give my fans what they want: the best fights on the biggest platform – and in Sky Sports we have that.
“I cannot wait to put on a show for all my fans all over the world. I am coming for everyone at 147 – watch this space.”
“We’ve had a long and successful association with Florian as he was one of the first boxers that we got involved with,” Shalom said.
“He featured on our early tournament shows which saw his popularity and reputation grow from strength to strength.
“We’re delighted to now sign this long-term deal as we head into the most important phase of his career that will see face the best at 147 pounds.”
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Adam Smith, Head of Boxing Development at Sky Sports said, “Everyone at Sky Sports are very pleased that Florian Marku has signed for our promotional partners BOXXER.
“Florian is a really engaging character who is extremely popular and who is demanding the biggest and most exciting fights.”
Marku has been linked to a showdown with British welterweight rival, Conor Benn in recent years, although a fight now seems unlikely with the pair aligned with different promoters and platforms, with Benn signed to Matchroom and DAZN.
The ‘Albanian King’, who has won three successive fights since a draw with Jamie Stewart has a huge following of almost 700k on Instagram and his manager, Adam Moralle believes he can become a pay-per-view star.
“Florian is a huge draw,” Morallee, CEO at S-Jam Boxing said.
“He’s entertaining, a massive ticket seller and made for pay-per-view.
“He’s now got a great platform with BOXXER and Sky Sports to move on to the next level and become a household name in the UK.
“There are so many great fights for him at 147lbs: the next two years are going to be big for Florian Marku.”
