“This is a strategic opportunity to reimagine the sport of boxing globally." The words of TKO President and Chief Operating Officer, Mark Shapiro.
Saudi Arabia has supercharged the sport of boxing since it became seriously involved with it in October 2023, but now it is set to lead a complete revolution. 5 March 2025 could go down as the biggest day in the history of the sport of Boxing. TKO and Turki Alalshikh signed a deal which launches a 'new promotion' for Boxing, in reality this is the start of a complete takeover of the sport at professional level, the launch of a revolution.
A press release read: HE Turki Alalshikh, together with TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (TKO) (NYSE: TKO), a global leader in sports and entertainment, and Sela, a leading entertainment conglomerate, have today announced a multi-year partnership to establish a new boxing promotion that will provide a premier platform for both leading boxers and prospects in the sport.
Speaking on this significant milestone, HE Turki Alalshikh said: “This landmark partnership between industry powerhouses sets the stage for an unparalleled experience for boxers and fans. Together, we are developing the next generation of talent and delivering world-class events at a time when the sport is primed for further disruption.”
Mark Shapiro, President and Chief Operating Officer, TKO added: “This is a strategic opportunity to reimagine the sport of boxing globally. TKO has the deep expertise, promotional prowess, and longstanding relationships. HE Turki Alalshikh and Sela share our passion and vision for evolving the current model. Together, we can bring the sweet science back to its rightful place in the forefront of the global sports ecosystem.”
TKO will serve as managing partner, providing day-to-day operational expertise, management, and oversight of the promotion, with executive leadership anchored by UFC President and CEO Dana White and WWE President and TKO Board Member Nick Khan.
Sela has played a pivotal role in promoting and delivering some of the biggest international boxing events in recent years, including Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles, and Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium, which set a new UK attendance record. A Public Investment Fund (PIF) company, Sela is also the lead sponsor of Newcastle United Football Club and has delivered projects such as Riyadh Winter Wonderland, Formula E, and the Italian Super Cup.
Dr. Rakan Alharthy, Managing Director and CEO of Sela, added: “This partnership between HE Turki Alalshikh, Sela, and TKO will turn the page on a new chapter in boxing history. Together, we will elevate the sport to new heights and redefine the fan experience for a worldwide audience. The promotion will create a sustainable future for boxing and reinforce Sela’s position as a powerhouse in global sports and
entertainment.”
The new promotion will feature:
• A highly structured system to develop new talent from around the world, including athlete combines and academies.
• Access for all boxers to the UFC Performance Institute, the world’s leading combat sports performance training, research, rehabilitation, and nutrition center, featuring locations in Las Vegas, Mexico City, and Shanghai.
• TKO’s production, media, and promotional expertise, to deliver both in-arena experiences and top-tier, state-of-the-art broadcasts to fans around the world.
Further details about the new boxing promotion, including fighter signings, fight schedules, venues, and host locations, will be revealed in the coming months.
Turki talked about "crushing everything else".
In my opinion this should not happen, the sport is too big, too old, too global to allow one promotion and one league to dominate over it.
Matchroom, Queensberry, BOXXER, Wasserman Boxing, Golden Boy, Top Rank, Premier Boxing Champions, Mayweather Promotions and other promoters from across the world need to realise the sport, and their businesses are at a critical crossroads. Yes, the promoters are competitors, and yes each promoter has had more than one issue with the sanctioning bodies, but if both want to protect their sport and enhance it, then they need to come together, for the betterment of Boxing.
The WBC (1963), WBA (1921), IBF (1977), and WBO (1988) are the Boxing equivalent of the Major Championship organisers in golf, and winning the four World Championship belts of these organisations is the equivalent of winning a Major in golf or tennis, and holding all four belts is the equivalent of winning the grand slam in golf or tennis. Becoming Undisputed Champion of the World, at any weight division, is the greatest achievement in Boxing, and that should NEVER change.
There are those will equate this situation to the LIV Golf v PGA TOUR 'war' in golf, but there is a key difference. LIV Golf is not trying to buy the Major Championships, it isn't trying to end the PGA TOUR, or the DP World Tour, in fact it has invested more than £200million into the Asian Tour, rescuing a member tour of the former International Federation of PGA Tours from extinction. LIV Golf is additive to the existing ecosystem of men's professional golf. This partnership between Turki Alalshikh, Dana White and TKO has openly announced they want to "crush" the promoters, and banish the governing bodies and their belts. They want to upend an entire sport and render the 150-year history of professional boxing irrelevant.
I am an advocate for the involvement of PIF, GEA and Turki Alalshikh in Boxing, they have helped create some astonishing events in the sport in the last 2 years, but I am against turning this huge, global sport, with millions of fans worldwide, thousands of boxers worldwide and hundreds of organisations worldwide, into the UFC. The ideal of 1 Champion at every weight class already exists, but you have become Undisputed Champion to achieve that, by winning the four Major belts.
Are there issues with the current structure of boxing? Absolutely. Can they be resolved? Absolutely.
World Boxing Rankings
Much of the media and some fans and boxers reckon that the true ranking in boxing is the Ring Magazine rankings, but seeing as the Ring Magazine is now clearly aligned with the new TKO venture, the sanctioning bodies, including WBC, WBA, IBF, IBO and the continental and national sanctioning bodies must develop a new, universal boxing ranking. Like the Official World Golf Ranking, it would be made up of fights fought across the world, at various levels and run by various promoters, such as Matchroom, Queensberry, BOXXER, Wasserman Boxing, Golden Boy, Top Rank, Premier Boxing Champions, and Mayweather Promotions.
The individual rankings run by the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO would cease, and the new Official World Boxing Rankings would become the gold standard for ranking boxers. Will it take time to work out a perfect system? Yes. Can it be done? Yes. Must it be done? Yes.
How could the points system work?
Base level for 12 round fights (men)/ 10 round fights (women)= 12 points/10 points for a win by knockout/stoppage at any point / 5 points for a win by decision
Points for knockout/stoppage win decrease by the number of rounds that the fight is, for example a 6 round fight would earn 6 points for a stoppage win
Defeating a boxer ranked above you = x1.5 for every spot they are ranked above you = 5th ranked boxer beating 1st ranked boxer by knockout would earn 60 points, as an example
World Championship fight = x8 = knockout win would earn 80 points
2x belts World Championship fight = x12 = knockout win would earn 120 points
3x belts World Championship fight = x16 = knockout win would earn 160 points
Undisputed World Championship fight = x20 = knockout win would earn 200 points
European Championship fight = x2 = knockout win would earn 20 points
British Championship fight = x1.5 = knockout win would earn 15 points
Incorporating the WBC Grand Prix rules
No draws: decisive results in every fight.
Open scoring: after rounds 2, 4 and 6, providing transparency and excitement.
Instant replay: ensuring fair and accurate scoring by officials.
End of Mandatory fights
Promoters and boxers should be given the freedom to secure whichever fight they want, without the sanctioning bodies intervening (except for ordering of a rematch in certain circumstances), but the new Official World Boxing Rankings would incentivise certain fights to be made. The points system would, along with a number of other factors, help to ensure that the biggest fights get made, and the best boxers in the world compete for the ultimate goal - becoming Undisputed Champion in their weight class.
Reduction in the number of belts
There would no longer be an interim champion in any weight class, if a boxer is stripped of the title then it would be down to the promoters and sanctioning bodies to secure a fight for a vacant title, rather than an interim champion being upgraded. Titles such as the Silver Championship, Diamond Championship, International, Intercontinental and Franchise Championship would be discontinued. The following belts would be available, for example, to British fighters:
WBC World
WBA World
IBF World
IBO World
EBU European
Commonwealth
British
Scottish
English
Welsh
Irish (Northern Ireland)
Boxing is far from broken, but of course it can improve. These ideas could unify the sport to a certain degree, and finally give it more of a coherent structure. For certain the times ahead will be dramatic, and arguably the most impactful the sport has ever seen.
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