Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports agency enters boxing business

It appears as though Jay Z's affection for pugilism extends beyond the infamous one-sided elevator fight with Beyoncé's sister Solange.

Roc Nation Sports, the agency founded by the hip-hop mogul in 2013 in partnership with CAA Sports, is stepping through the ropes and into the shadowy world of professional boxing, ESPN is reporting. 

Roc Nation recently named boxing industry veteran David Itskowitch as chief operating officer of its boxing division and secured a promoters license in New York and Washington, D.C., according to ESPN.

"We're going to promote our first event by the end of the year, and we're currently strategizing on which fighters we will seek to sign," said Itskowitch, a former HBO Sports senior vice president and Golden Boy Promotions chief operating officer.

Itskowitch told ESPN.com's Dan Rafael that the agency is "looking to make an immediate and dramatic impact on the sport" by "leveraging Roc Nation's current marketing, public relations and branding infrastructure."

Roc Nation Sports represents star athletes Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Yankees' CC Sabathia and Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners, among others. 

"We will be a promoter," Itskowitch said, "but our job won't end once a guy fights on a particular Saturday night. We will promote him 365 days a year."