TURKI Alalshikh continues to dominate the current boxing landscape with his tweets, projections and proclamations. Some of his messages are based on facts, while others are subtle nudges designed to force boxing’s players to bend to his will.
Taking to the spaces feature on X, the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority addressed his newfound relationship with Dana White, which aligns the noble art with WWE and UFC. That announcement was met with a mixed response within the broader fight community as concerns were raised about the immediate health of the sport under one increasingly single entity.
“Last week we announced the first league of boxing with TKO and Dana White. We focus in this league on the talent and to give the opportunity for the fighters and to make something the fans like,” said Turki.
“We have a lot of ideas. I will keep it until the right time to Dana because he is the CEO of the company and the league to announce it. This league is a project not against anyone, not against the commission, not against the promoters.
“This is my opinion and this is from my side. It is a project that will have space in the market and we will still see the four belts and the commission and the promoters. The market is huge and no one can delete anyone from this market.”
The deletion comments are in relation to some squeamish squirming from sanctioning bodies and promoters who previously courted ‘His Excellency’ now realising they could quickly be crushed under the steamroller.
Turki went on to claim that the Ring Magazine will remain a neutral party within the new landscape before (kind of ) clarifying his mysteriously muddled messages around the potential Canelo vs. Terence Crawford bout.
“After the 3rd of May we will announce the details about the Canelo and Crawford fight, the big fight in the history of boxing. We will not announce it before the 3rd.
“There is a surprise about who will be the promoter of this big fight and the platform you will see the big fights in it. We finish everything but I respect the request from Canelo.”
This final statement led to much conjecture in the fanbase, with some thinking it will be promoted by White, others suggesting Eddie Hearn, or perhaps ESPN stepping back into boxing. One thing is for certain, the turkeys previously voting for Christmas are now all looking over their shoulders.