NEW YORK — Turki Alalshikh’s latest boxing vision, on paper, appeared oxymoronic. After all, tennis is a sport known for being polite, well-mannered and with a tradition steeped in aristocracy. But on Saturday night in Queens the Saudi kingpin swapped out rackets and handshakes for gloves and uppercuts inside Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the results were impressive.
There was a new energy in the air. The march from Mets-Willets Points station to the stadium was made harder through a sizzling New York summer’s evening, but it didn’t deter hundreds donning their local boxing club sweatshirts and caps. The crowd was full of young fans and younger talent — no doubt aided by a sizable tranche of complimentary tickets that were handed out during fight week. A prospect from Eastern Queens Boxing Club could have been only 14 years old, but was being recognized by his peers.
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The event — co-headlined by Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz and Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda — felt almost gladiatorial. The stands hung over the ring in daunting fashion, giving all ticket holders a perfect view of leather being traded, and boxing’s current emperor sat ringside, fixated on his curation of the card titled “Ring III.”
In between shaking hands with dignitaries, fiddling with his cap and waving for a top-up of refreshments, Alalshikh stalked the ring unbothered by any view he would restrict behind him, pulling the strings of the puppet show he had created. After May’s lackluster Times Square show, the chair of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority was promised action — and boy, he got it.
His recent post on X demanding fewer “Tom and Jerry-type boxing matches” clearly hit a nerve. More so than ever, the opinion of the man that is referred to as “His Excellency” by those looking to court his attention was of ultimate importance, trumping trinkets and ranking spots on offer. After each bout concluded, you’d be forgiven for waiting on Alalshikh to give the Pollice verso thumbs up or thumbs down as to whether he had been entertained.
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“I came in here to prove a point,” Stevenson said in the ring following a unanimous decision victory over Zepeda. “It wasn’t the performance I was looking for because I came in here to try and fight, so I took more punishment than usual. But I proved that I’m a dog.”
Stevenson delivered a career-best performance over the Mexican southpaw, looking flashy throughout the 36 minutes of action, standing his ground and inviting pressure from one of the most dangerous pressure fighters in the division. It was the statement that he and Alalshikh had been waiting for, quashing previous criticism of a tedious style.
Sharp counters and blinding combinations gave the 11,000 in attendance a glimpse of how great Stevenson, now 28 years old, could be, with comparisons to the early years of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s reign being debated ringside.
“If you call me Jerry, I’m whooping Tom’s ass,” the New Jersey fighter said to the assembled media during the preceding fight week, and although he couldn’t close the show with a stoppage, Stevenson stuck to his word.
Shakur Stevenson’s battle with William Zepeda was Stevenson’s most action-packed fight in recent memory.
(Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy via Getty Images)
“Very happy Shakur delivered a great fight. Shakur gave the fans what they wanted to see and he’s now more respected than ever,” Alalshikh posted on X the following day. A thumbs up from the boss.
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It was more “Itchy and Scratchy” than “Tom and Jerry” in the main event. A hungry Hamzah Sheeraz made a huge splash in his first fight at 168 pounds, dropping and stopping a brave Edgar Berlanga inside a ferocious five rounds.
Sheeraz has been labeled as Alalshikh’s “teacher’s pet” following the support he received during his February draw with Carlos Adames, but the Briton repaid the faith shown in his talent with a statement victory. It was a heavy-handed assault of a dangerous opponent, stamping his ticket to potentially fight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in the near future.
“I promise you, I swear to you, whoever was in the ring with me today, there was no stopping me,” Sheeraz said afterward. “The amount of abuse I got after the last fight made me a hungrier fighter.”
Alalshikh has since gone on to compare Sheeraz to the great Tommy Hearns, doubling down on the pressure he is willing to place on the 26-year-old as well as his insatiable appetite for violence.
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Whatever you think of boxing’s latest boss, it’s becoming harder and harder to argue with the results he is yielding. After the Times Square debacle, Saturday night in Queens acted as the perfect antidote, kickstarting Alalshikh’s new “Itchy and Scratchy” era of boxing.
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