There was a period of time late in 2022 and into early 2023 when the handlers of Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury worried they would never be able to satisfy their financial demands.
Usyk-Fury was the heavyweight title unification fight boxing needed. Fury-Anthony Joshua would’ve done significantly bigger business — their all-British battle would’ve sold out London’s Wembley Stadium and perhaps been the most marketable matchup in the history of U.K. boxing — but Ukraine’s Usyk defeated England’s Joshua twice, and Fury’s WBC belt was the only one Usyk needed to become boxing’s first fully unified heavyweight champion of the four-belt era. Fury chased that same legacy-changing victory, yet both boxers wondered whether the tens of millions of dollars they wanted for facing each other would be available.
It wasn’t until Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA), headed by chairman Turki Alalshikh, infused so much money into the boxing business in 2023 that Usyk-Fury became a reality.
The GEA has such deep pockets, Usyk and Fury agreed to fight twice. They are scheduled to box again Dec. 21 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, in a 12-round rematch that caps off the country’s first full calendar year heavily involved in a niche, unstructured sport perpetually in need of financial assistance.
Usyk, 37, and Fury, 36, will each earn more than $100 million combined for their two fights, funding that would not have been available if not for the Saudis’ sudden involvement in boxing. The Middle Eastern country hosted world title fights in 2018 (Callum Smith-George Groves) and 2019 (Joshua-Andy Ruiz II), but it hadn’t invested in boxing consistently until it made Fury’s fight with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou its inaugural main event of Saudi Arabia’s persistently promoted “Riyadh Season” in October 2023.
Fury-Ngannou drew worldwide criticism because the then-unbeaten WBC champion Fury opposed a boxing novice in a 10-round, non-title bout. The novelty nevertheless delivered one of boxing’s most memorable moments of 2023 when the hard-hitting Ngannou floored Fury in the third round and nearly upset one of the most accomplished heavyweights of the 21st century.
“The Gypsy King,” who was a 20-1 favorite, survived Ngannou’s unanticipated threat, narrowly won a split decision, and secured his place in his showdown with Usyk. Fury and Usyk then met May 18 at Kingdom Arena, where Usyk defeated Fury by split decision in a very competitive bout. Fury can avenge the lone loss on his professional record seven weeks from Saturday night.
“It’s been an unbelievable year,” Frank Warren, Fury’s co-promoter, said during a news conference to promote their rematch Wednesday in London. “Last October was the first one, which was Tyson. He opened up the ‘Riyadh Season’ against Ngannou. Since then, we’ve had some brilliant nights.”
Warren noted that Saudi Arabia’s “Riyadh Season” events have featured 67 fighters, included 14 world title fights, and crowned undisputed champions in two weight classes, all within just 12 months.
Those within the business who’ve benefited financially from it have an overwhelmingly positive viewpoint of Saudi Arabia’s involvement in boxing. There are detractors — most commonly complaints of “sportswashing” by the increasingly image-conscious Saudi Arabian government — which Uncrowned will also examine below in assessing Alalshikh’s status as the most influential figure in the industry.
Five Victories
Fans finally have seen several high-profile fights
Fans far too often have waited way too long for “marinating” matchups and bouts blocked by competing promotional and/or network/streaming partnerships. Alalshikh has provided purses that have made even the most bitter business rivals, most notably Warren and fellow British promoter Eddie Hearn, work together.
In addition to Fury-Usyk, Alalshikh, commonly called “His Excellency” by business partners, secured funding for the light heavyweight title unification bout between unbeaten champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Beterbiev beat Bivol by majority decision Oct. 12 at Kingdom Arena and became the sport’s first fully unified 175-pound champion since four belts became recognized.
Their fight was so close, though, that Alalshikh acknowledged in recent days that he will make sure an immediate rematch takes place in the first half of 2025.
“They’ve certainly brought a lot of money into the sport and a lot of fights happened because of them,” Bob Arum, Beterbiev’s promoter, told Uncrowned when asked about the Saudis. “That’s all good. Have they done everything perfectly? No, but you know, pretty much I would say they’ve been a big plus in what they’ve done.”
Fighters are making more money
Usyk and Fury weren’t the only champions paid much more than seemingly market value for their historically significant fight. Beterbiev and Bivol earned approximately $10 million apiece for their championship clash, which also took place at Kingdom Arena.
Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang, a former WBO interim champ, received a compensation package that approached $3 million for his fifth-round stoppage of former WBC champ Deontay Wilder on June 1 at Kingdom Arena. Zhang’s purse for facing Wilder was more than he made for his two knockout victories over England’s Joe Joyce combined.
It has been an expensive endeavor overall, presumably one that has yet to come close to turning a profit. Alalshikh assured his promotional partners, though, that the GEA is committed to the sport in the long term, even if his proposed $2 billion boxing league doesn’t materialize.
“I don’t think we would’ve seen Fury-Usyk and I don’t think we would’ve seen Bivol-Beterbiev without the Saudis,” Hearn told Uncrowned. “I know we wouldn’t have seen cards like it. So, I think it’s been incredible, and I hope it can continue.”
It should be noted, of course, that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao earned almost $400 million combined in May 2015 for what remains the most profitable fight in boxing history long before the Saudis disrupted the global boxing market.
Trickle-down effect on purses
With the GEA covering purses for such costly contests as Usyk-Fury, Beterbiev-Bivol, Joshua-Daniel Dubois, Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov, Joshua-Ngannou and Fury-Ngannou, more money is available within the budgets networks and streaming services provide promoters primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom.
That has helped, in some cases, promoters like Arum and Hearn to make main events and/or undercard fights for respective ESPN+ and DAZN subscribers that otherwise might not have happened.
“The Saudis and Turki Alalshikh have had an amazing, positive impact on the sport,” manager Keith Connolly, who works with heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic, told Uncrowned. “They’re making fights that otherwise would never be made, which is helping some of the promoters and the networks make some of the second-tier fights a lot easier because Saudi Arabia is helping financially with the bigger fights.
“So, I think it’s tremendous for the entire sport of boxing. Even though it seems like the top guys are benefiting more, I don’t believe that’s true. I think there’s a trickle-down effect. I think it helps the mid-level fighters in that respect.”
Croatia’s Hrgovic lost by eighth-round technical knockout on cuts to Dubois in their fight for the IBF interim title on the Wilder-Zhang undercard June 1 at Kingdom Arena.
Promoters, networks working together more often
Boxers aligned with competing promoters and content providers too often fought inferior, in-house opponents prior to Alalshikh satisfying financial needs of competitors consistently.
The days when fighters with long-term commitments to HBO couldn’t fight opponents contracted with Showtime seem like distant memories in many cases since Saudi Arabia became the prominent provider in the sport. Beterbiev, for instance, is tied to Arum’s Top Rank Inc. and ESPN, whereas Bivol works with Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and DAZN.
Wilder worked throughout his career with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, yet he, too, fought former WBO champ Joseph Parker on the Joshua-Otto Wallin undercard last Dec. 23 at Kingdom Arena and later Zhang.
“They’ve got the promoters working together, they’ve got the TV companies working together,” Warren said.
“TNT [Sport], DAZN, Sky [Sports], all working together to continue to support the greatest sport in the world. The boxing landscape is in the best shape it’s ever been in because of [Saudi Arabia’s involvement]. And we’ve got, on the 21st of December, the fight.”
Pay-per-view shows are cheaper in the U.S.
Alalshikh has repeatedly referred to his plan to lower the cost of pay-per-view events, particularly in the U.S., where cards can cost anywhere between $75 and $90.
He believes rampant piracy is the consequence of high pay-per-view prices and can be curtailed by charging less for that content. With more margin for financial error, Alalshikh can apply this price-slashing principle in ways HBO Sports and Showtime Sports weren’t willing to try with promotional partners before those two industry-leading premium cable networks stopped broadcasting boxing.
As part of the GEA’s deal with Arum’s company, Beterbiev-Bivol was offered to ESPN+ subscribers at no additional cost in the U.S. DAZN subscribers in the UK were charged £19.99 for the entire Beterbiev-Bivol card.
Several Saudi-backed pay-per-view shows have featured stacked undercards and been offered for lower price points than normal, as low as $39.99.
“I dream of a pay-per-view with a good price to make fans happy and subscribe and get them to watch it legally,” Alalshikh told TalkSport. “Usually when I see a high pay-per-view [price], a lot of people go and watch the fight illegally, and this is not healthy for boxing and the platform.”
Alalshikh also discussed his plan to offer pay-per-view shows for $20 worldwide, which he projected could double buy rates and, in turn, build boxing’s fan base.
Five Challenges
Reshaping Saudi Arabia’s image
Some critics contend the Saudis’ massive investment in boxing is a form of “sportswashing,” by definition distracting the public from past negative political and cultural actions by diverting attention through the country’s involvement in sports and, by extension, improving its image and promoting tourism. Opponents of the Saudi-funded LIV Golf tour and the Muslim nation’s involvement in soccer and tennis make similar arguments as to why this strategy shifts focus away from Saudi Arabia’s history of violence and oppression in a place typically perceived to be one of the most volatile regions in the world.
“Sportswashing is a pejorative term, OK?,” American promoter Lou DiBella told Uncrowned. “But when you get behind the pejorative term, what it means is that a country that’s got its own issues and own critics and maybe a history that’s dicey, has a priority to uplift its image. Well, that’s what every tourism board in every country in the world does.
“I certainly believe that the efforts of Turki over the last few years have increased the visibility of Riyadh. There’s no question about that. Is that a negative? No, it’s not a negative for Saudi Arabia, it’s not a negative for Riyadh, and it hasn’t been a negative for boxing. Is it sportswashing? Well, that’s certainly up to interpretation and debate.”
England’s Hearn, whose company promotes Joshua and other boxers who’ve fought on Saudi-funded cards, notes that he has observed considerable cultural improvements since he first promoted a boxing event in Riyadh almost five years ago.
“The change that I’ve seen in the country is incredible in five years,” Hearn said.
“Yes, of course they’re looking to gain exposure for Saudi Arabia … But I see the infrastructure is incredible, the venues, the tech, the hotels, the hospitality, zero crime. I feel much safer there than I do in my own country, my own capital.”
Most major cards take place in Riyadh
The GEA has solely supported shows at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles (Aug. 3) and Wembley Stadium in London (Sept. 21), but eight of the first 10 “Riyadh Season” boxing events will have been held in Riyadh by the time the Usyk-Fury rematch occurs Dec. 21.
The people paying for the shows naturally are well within their right to bring those events wherever they see fit, but traveling to Riyadh from the U.S., the U.K., and elsewhere can be prohibitively expensive for fans interested in watching those bouts live, as they might do in Las Vegas, New York or London. While boxing is becoming more popular in Saudi Arabia, organizers have had difficulty selling out tickets to even the highest-profile fights at Kingdom Arena, where the atmosphere sometimes isn’t reflective of the magnitude of such significant shows.
Public disputes with boxers
While typically respectful and appreciative of boxers and the dangerous nature of their vocation, Alalshikh has engaged in several public disputes with them — most infamously with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez over the summer.
Alalshikh questioned Alvarez’s courage when boxing’s biggest star informed Alalshikh’s team that he wanted to wait until after his fight with Edgar Berlanga to explore the possibility of fighting Crawford next. An agitated Alalshikh apparently took it personally that Alvarez didn’t want to discuss the Crawford fight at that time and admonished the Mexican icon for not agreeing to face David Benavidez.
Alalshikh spoke for countless fans when he questioned the undisputed super middleweight champion’s curious choice to battle Berlanga on Sept. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The unbeaten Berlanga was a huge underdog, and although he went the 12-round distance, Alvarez’s reasons for not boxing Benavidez never made much sense.
Still, for the sake of future business with one of the faces of the sport, questioning the future Hall of Famer’s courage was counterproductive. His scathing comments made it appear as if Alalshikh was angry simply because Alvarez, unlike most fellow fighters, didn’t do what Alalshikh asked.
Conflicts of interest with media outlets
A columnist for The Telegraph, a daily newspaper based in London, and two writers for BoxingScene.com — a website once owned by Paramount Global, a former employer of this writer — were denied credentials to cover the Joshua-Dubois card Sept. 21 at Wembley Stadium.
Their access was denied due to critical columns written about the Saudis’ involvement in boxing. It is within the right of a promoter or, in this case, a fight financier, to restrict media access to a private event, yet Alalshikh could exhibit a progressive approach to handling reporters by welcoming even the harshest critics of him and his country to GEA-sponsored events.
As the sport’s most prominent person outside of the ring at the moment, criticism comes with the territory — as long as it is presented professionally and fairly, well researched, and doesn’t amount to a petty personal attack.
Besides, detractors can write disapprovingly about an event, Alalshikh, and/or Saudi Arabia rather easily, even if they’re not seated ringside or in a press box for a fight card.
As this relates specifically to BoxingScene.com, the outlet was purchased by promoter Garry Jonas from Paramount Global on Feb. 16. While a promoter owning a media outlet can cause conflicts of interest, numerous entities that cover boxing regularly are in business either with a promoter (e.g. The Ring and Golden Boy Promotions) or a television/streaming service (e.g. ESPN.com and ESPN/Top Rank).
Jonas also owns and operates ProBox TV, which streams boxing cards primarily on Wednesday nights.
Uncrowned has confirmed that Alalshikh is in negotiations to purchase The Ring website and magazine from Oscar De La Hoya’s company.
The completion of that sale would make BoxingScene.com, which was once under the same corporate umbrella as Showtime, a media competitor. Restricting reporters from a rival outlet would invite unnecessary criticism as well.
Taking advice, constructive criticism
Arum will turn 93 early in December and has been involved in boxing at the highest level for the past seven decades. The Hall of Fame promoter appreciates the game-changing funding the Saudis have provided, but hopes Alalshikh’s first year in this often-unforgiving business has taught him invaluable lessons he can apply moving forward.
“Listen to other people — that’s the only thing they’re not doing that I would suggest they do,” Arum told Uncrowned. “Listen and pay attention to people who’ve been in this sport for a long time.”
Arum disagreed with Alalshikh talking directly to Jared Anderson, the American heavyweight his company built from unknown prospect into a legitimate contender, and enticing a then-unbeaten Anderson into battling British knockout artist Martin Bakole on the Crawford-Madrimov undercard. A package in excess of $2 million made Anderson accept that dangerous bout, in which Bakole knocked him down three times and knocked out Anderson in the fifth round.
“They went to the kid first, rather than coming to us,” Arum said. “Not that they were gonna exclude us, but that’s how they operate — they go to the athlete. If they had come to us, we would’ve worked it out and Jared could’ve fought for them on the card, but against another opponent.”
While Arum’s matchmakers would’ve advised against Anderson boxing Bakole, Alalshikh directly made a fight fans were intrigued to see on that pay-per-view undercard. From his perspective, he properly served consumers who otherwise would’ve watched Anderson in a less challenging fight his next time out.
DiBella believes the Saudis’ overall involvement in the sport has had a positive impact, as cited in numerous abovementioned examples. He is not certain, though, that the sport will be healthier in the long term due to the hundreds of millions of dollars the GEA has spent on it over the past year.
“I am not against what they’re doing in Saudi Arabia, nor would I ever say that the Saudis right now are bad for boxing,” DiBella, a former HBO Sports executive, said. “How could you say that, when they are the biggest source of revenue right now in the entire sport? How could you say they’re bad for boxing? You can’t. But they’re marketing Riyadh and they’re marketing ‘Riyadh Season.’
“If you’re not worried about how much money you’re making or losing, and if you’re not worried about the revenue side or a [profit and loss statement], particularly, then you’re doing business differently than any other promoter or venue in the world. Therefore, you’re conceding that it’s simply a sports marketing opportunity for the Saudi government. What is ‘Riyadh Season?’ It’s trying to cast a positive light on the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is clearly something that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia would want to do. And I actually think that ‘Riyadh Season’ has been pretty effective. That being said, is it growing boxing? Of course it’s not growing boxing.”
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