As the calendar flipped in January, there was a feeling within the boxing industry that forthcoming developments in 2025 could redefine the sport taking it in a new direction for at least the next decade.
If what took place during the last week alone is any indication — as it pertains to the global business of the sweet science — it appears as if we could be headed toward a radical new beginning in record time after years of greed, disorganization and corruption prevented boxing from reaching its full potential.
The jury is still out as to whether all of these changes will be seen as positive when all is said and done. That might depend on one’s perspective, affiliation and even location.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, led by its brash chairman of the general entertainment authority, Turki Alalshikh, has only continued its rapid takeover of the sport. This as TKO Group, the combat sports behemoth that now owns UFC and WWE, is rumored to become a strategic partner of the Saudis with talks of a potential boxing league debuting this fall.
Here’s what has transpired over the last week alone:
- Canelo Alvarez, the biggest star in boxing — after a full year of public feuding with Alalshikh — signed a four-fight, two-year deal with the powerful adviser that will see the Mexican icon fight three times in Saudi Arabia (including a 168-pound undisputed clash with unheralded IBF titleholder William Scull in May) and once in Las Vegas (a September superfight against pound-for-pound stalwart Terence Crawford). Alvarez signed the 11th-hour deal after nearly reupping with Premier Boxing Champions and accepting a May offer to box YouTube superstar Jake Paul on Netflix.
- Hall of Famer Bob Arum’s Top Rank, the sport’s most enduring promotion dating back to the days of Muhammad Ali, saw its eight-year run on ESPN come to an end after the network declined to renew the partnership, according to reports. Rumors suggested Top Rank could sign with DAZN, the streaming network that is already home to three of the five biggest boxing promotions and recently received a $1 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. However, BoxingScene reported Tuesday that Top Rank could diversify its new deal among multiple platforms as it remains in talks with both ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery (owners of Max, TNT, TBS, etc.) about new deals following the completion of its current ESPN agreement in July.
- Ari Emmanuel, the powerful CEO of Endeavor and executive chairman of TKO Group, responded to questions about TKO’s future in boxing during a guest spot on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” during Super Bowl week. Emmanuel controversially teased that UFC CEO Dana White, who would presumably lead TKO’s rumored partnership with Alalshikh, had visions of potentially repealing the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. Should that transpire, TKO could realize its desire to monopolize boxing on par with the way it has created a stranglehold over the MMA and professional wrestling industries. The fact that White is close friends with President Donald Trump only increases the possibility that act gets repealed.
Will this shift end American boxing?
If you are a casual boxing fan who prioritizes seeing the biggest and best fights — regardless of network or promotional affiliation — the takeover by Saudi Arabia (and by proxy, DAZN) might not be a negative. This may be a direct antidote to years of frustration in boxing given how the lack of a central governing body has kept the sport so disjointed and segregated from the mainstream.
That does not mean such a move would be free from dire consequences. These potential moves, combined, appear to be a direct threat upon the American boxing market, one that would only further the gap between an increasingly niche sport and a casual fan base that blockbuster pay-per-view cards depend upon being able to pull in revenue.
To say that Saudi Arabia’s arrival in 2023 turned the city of Riyadh into the new Las Vegas wouldn’t be completely true. Especially considering Alalshikh, through his own personal equity fund, recently purchased “The Ring” from Oscar De La Hoya for $10 million and has announced plans for an upcoming boxing series sponsored by the legendary magazine and website that will largely take place on U.S. soil. (That includes a May doubleheader in New York’s Times Square featuring rivals Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney in separate bouts to promote an eventual rematch.)
Still, many of boxing’s biggest matchups over the past 18 months were shifted to Saudi Arabia (airing on Saturday afternoons in the U.S., often competing with college football), which removed much of the grassroots buzz that comes with the marketing of major fights stateside. Add to this the fact that Alvarez, who regularly packs arenas in Las Vegas full of Mexican and Mexican-American fans — long the consumer backbone of American boxing, will now be fighting almost exclusively in smaller arenas on Saudi Arabian soil.
One can surely see the dilemma.
In the aftermath of boxing’s recent demise across American premium cable networks (Showtime, HBO), ESPN’s reported exit from the sweet science is also a concern, especially if Top Rank signs with DAZN. While the subscription streaming service has a large global footprint with a plethora of international rights, it remains a relatively obscure package stateside aimed at hardcore boxing fans, thus limiting the opportunity for casuals to stumble upon fights.
While PBC remains a strong entity in the U.S. — capable of packing arenas for huge live gates and presenting meaningful PPVs featuring the likes of Gervonta “Tank” Davis and David Benavidez through its partnership with Prime Video — the company founded by Al Haymon has struggled to find consistency in terms of frequent dates. Now it has lost itself a major player in Alvarez. It also remains to be seen whether PBC, which has allowed a handful of its fighters to appear on Alalshikh-financed events on DAZN, is aligned with the Saudi movement or ultimately set to find itself on the outside looking in. (Consider that PBC stars like Davis, Tim Tszyu and previously even Alvarez have been outspoken critics of Alalshikh.)
What happens if the Ali Act gets repealed?
TKO and White’s involvement in a rumored boxing prospect league has brought mixed feelings across the sport, particularly as it pertains to the Ali Act, the toxic culture White’s UFC athletes exist in amid his commitment to unchecked free speech and UFC’s reputation for underpaying its athletes despite record economic growth annually. Should White one day succeed in repealing the legislation, which was established in 2000 to protect boxers and aimed at improving financial transparency while legally separating the roles of manager and promoter, it could lead to a complete, heavy-handed revamp of the entire sport from the ground up by TKO and Alalshikh.
Back in 2017, when White began to speak openly about a move into boxing during the build to the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor crossover fight, it was seen as a potentially positive development for boxing. After all, White is one of the greatest and most passionate promoters in combat sports history.
However, TKO’s recent handling of both UFC and WWE — featuring an almost shameless gouging of fans when it comes to ticket prices, an abundance of advertising jammed into every nook and cranny of production and a continual watering down of matchmaking (in the case of UFC) — has many boxing fans questioning whether such a move is more about TKO’s financial portfolio than it is improving the health and culture of the sport.
We are still talking about prizefighting, of course, which is why Alvarez’s shrewd moves last week can only be criticized up to a point (even with his shameless ducking of Benavidez). For at least the near future, any boxer aligning with Saudi Arabia can certainly expect career-high paydays plus promotion through multimillion-dollar commercials that feels like action movie trailers.
All of that remains positive for the fighters, as does Alalshikh’s recent commitment to dramatically lowering the cost of PPV events, which should bring more fans under the tent. But how long will this honeymoon last as Saudi Arabia continues to pump an unprecedented amount of funds into the bank accounts of boxing’s biggest stars, regardless of whether live gates or PPV sales ever catch up enough to make a profit? And what other unforeseen casualties, including the continued irrelevance of the American boxing scene, will continue to take a hit?
Moreover, how much of a red flag was it when Alalshikh, upon signing Alvarez last week following reports from multiple outlets that the Paul fight was agreed upon, came clean during an interview with ESPN? He admitted that he personally used “The Ring,” which Alalshikh originally claimed would be editorially agnostic from “Riyadh Season,” to spread misinformation over a 48-hour period in order to sway the negotiation in his favor. The fallout threatened the credibility of Alalshikh, “The Ring” and the many journalists who repeatedly took his word at face value.
Just over a full year into the Saudi Arabian boxing takeover, where skeptical fans and critics have been forced to trade any concerns over sportswashing in exchange for enjoying superfights the sport could previously only dream of receiving, the results have certainly been more positive than negative.
However, we are rapidly approaching a point in time where you are either with the machine or against it. Whether these drastic changes remain positive for boxing — and those who either earn a living within its walls or use their discretionary income to support the sport — is still seriously up for debate.
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