The Saudi Sports Chairman taking over the sport of boxing is picking his fights like he’s managing a team on Football Manager.
That’s the view of promoter Eddie Hearn. Hearn and Frank Warren believe Turki Alalshikh’s involvement is a breath of fresh air for pugilism.
Saudi Arabia has upped its game in just a few months. They now host some of the most significant events.
The country previously staged sporadic events like Anthony Josuha fights or the World Boxing Super Series finale.
Boxing fights are being made
Since the turn of 2023, regional investors have exploded with several shows that have captured the public’s imagination.
The first undisputed heavyweight title fight in a quarter of a century occurs on February 17. Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk trade blows for all the marbles on the order of the Chairman.
Without the intervention of Turki, it seemed highly unlikely that the promoters involved would get their acts together.
Constant squabbles and bickering harmed the sport. Then Alalshikh came only with his deep pockets, and everybody decided to be happy.
With a massive shift from the United States being the epicenter of boxing already underway, Hearn and Warren couldn’t praise the Chairman any more than they did.
“Our thanks to the Crown Prince and, of course, His Excellency [Turki]. I likened this to Football Manager earlier, the whole experience,” said Hearn.
“Imagine being the biggest fan in boxing and having the ability to sit in a room and put fights together at the drop of a hat that the fans want to see.
“In just five months, we’ve seen Fury vs. Ngannou, The Day of Reckoning, Fury vs. Usyk and ‘AJ’ vs. Ngannou, and so much more to come.”
Saudi Prince is knowledgeable about boxing
Warren added: “This is the fourth event of the Riyadh season. If it weren’t for His Excellency and his team, the support of Riyadh Season and Saudi Arabia, these fights would not be happening. That’s a fact.
“He has been instrumental in making these and previous fights happen. Instrumental in getting Eddie and myself sitting at the same table.
“We’ve just made another big fight happen, his best against my best. We’ll make that event happen. This is just what boxing fans have been crying out for.
“They have been begging for us to make the fights which sometimes have not been financially viable to make, but now it’s changed.
“It’s happening so fast. It’s one after the other: great fights with fantastic undercards. It just keeps coming and coming and coming.”
The fact the fans were begging, and promoters couldn’t get it done on their own begs serious questions. However, there can be no complaints when the Prince sings from the same hymn sheet as the fans.
On the Chairman’s depth of love for the sport, Hearn concluded: “This is such an incredible opportunity for boxing. It’s being delivered by someone who has an incredible passion for the sport, someone who’s unbelievably knowledgeable.
“I thought Ngannou and Fury would be a mismatch, and His Excellency told me I would be wrong. I said Callum Smith would beat Artur Beterbiev, and he told me I was wrong. It shows he knows his boxing.”
