On January 10th of 2026, Latvian combat sports will witness one hell of a fight as Kristaps Zutis and Francis Rozentāls finally square off at “BAZARA 0 Fight Club III” in Riga’s Xiaomi Arena!
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Kristaps Zutis
5.00
1.15
Francis Rozentāls
Let’s look at the fighters’ backgrounds and the full origins of their beef. Kristaps “Lielais Kristaps” Zutis is a multi-discipline fighter known as one of the biggest and loudest names in Latvian combat sports. Competing across cruiserweight and light heavyweight classes, Zutis has built a theatrical trash-talker showman reputation equal to his career success; in professional boxing he holds 15 fights under his belt, with a record of 7–5–3, and all 7 of his wins came via knockout.
But he’s not just a boxer either; Zutis has tried his hand in MMA and holds a 4–1 record. Kristaps has participated in various promotions, notably the King of Kings (KOK) series. Earlier this year, Zutis contended for the KOK Latvian title, though he fell short in a points loss to Juris Zundovskis.
Facing Zutis is Francis Rozentāls, a rising star of Latvian boxing. Rozentāls holds an undefeated professional record, which is currently 10–0–1 (with the one sole draw from early in his career). He first emerged between 2019 and 2022 by beating more experienced opponents, even handing several previously unbeaten fighters their first loss.
Rozentāls’ career momentum was paused in 2022 by an elbow injury, for nearly three years. However, his comeback in 2025 has been massive: in March, Rozentāls returned to amateur competition and won a national boxing championship. He then re-entered the pro ranks under BAZARA 0 management, winning at Liepāja Fight Night 5 and later scoring a first-round TKO in August over Giorgi Tevdorashvili. Fast, fit, and fundamentally sound, Rozentāls represents the new generation of Latvian boxing, and is now tasked with facing the well-known Zutis.
So, what’s the beef?
Well, the bad blood between Zutis and Rozentāls did not originate in a boxing ring at all; it started on a basketball court, out of all places.
On January 29th of 2025, both men were participants in Latvia’s first-ever fightball — a hybrid of basketball and combat where physical play is encouraged — event at Xiaomi Arena. During the exhibition game, a mid-game altercation erupted between Zutis and Rozentāls.
After, Francis Rozentāls happily fanned the flames. Speaking to BAZARA 0’s media team, Rozentāls downplayed the incident but implied that Zutis wouldn’t dare face him in a real boxing ring.
This provocation did not go unanswered for long; Zutis, never one to let an insult slide, immediately fired back. According to the BAZARA 0 team, Zutis was texting the promotion’s matchmakers that same night, demanding a fight with Rozentāls.
By the next morning, an official announcement hit social media: Rozentāls had accepted the challenge and was ready to settle the score in the upcoming “BAZARA 0 Fight Club II” event in spring of 2025. Zutis was offered a €5,000 purse to take the fight, although Zutis had said he’d do it for free just to get his hands on Francis.
For a moment, it really looked like Zutis vs. Rozentāls could happen, and within months. But contract paperwork intervened, for the better or worse, and Zutis was pulling out of the matchup. He had recently signed a long-term deal with the King of Kings (KOK) promotion, which conflicted with the “BAZARA 0 Fight Club II” event.
Rozentāls instead fought a replacement opponent at “BAZARA 0 Fight Club II”, which, quite ironically, was Juris Zundovskis — the same man who had defeated Zutis in KOK just months prior in May of 2025. Rozentāls went on to beat Zundovskis and kept his record perfect.
In February 2025, following his KOK loss, Zutis addressed the Rozentāls situation at a press conference. He revealed the fightball incident was triggered by Rozentāls elbowing him in the head. Zutis said he even approached Rozentāls after that game to make peace, but later that night saw Rozentāls bragging on TikTok. “[…] He hasn’t been in the ring for five years and says everyone is afraid of him. That’s a bit amusing, too. And yet the villain in this story is still Kristaps Zutis.”
In April of 2025, away from any sanctioned event as they were unable to meet in an official ring, Zutis and Rozentāls engaged in an unsanctioned bare-knuckle scrap at the LNK Boxing gym. Danik Vesnenok, the founder of BAZARA 0, publicly expressed disapproval over the gym incident and said the fighters “could have stepped into the ring, fought under boxing rules and earned money; instead they created a conflict out of thin air”.Throughout 2025, it seemed inevitable that someone would eventually stage Zutis vs. Rozentāls as a real event. And at last, the stars have aligned for “BAZARA 0 Fight Club III” — the promotion is officially announcing that on January 10th of 2026, as part of its partnership with OlyBet Sports Bar, Zutis and Rozentāls will be one of the main fights at the event.
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If you haven’t been to the previous “BAZARA 0 Fight Club” shows, enjoy the atmosphere in our recap:
