What Does Turki Alalshikh & Dana White’s New Venture Mean For Boxing?
On Wednesday afternoon, Turki Alalshikh, UFC President Dana White, and WWE President Nick Khan announced one of the most breathtaking collaborations in the history of sport, let alone boxing.
The trio are set to create a new boxing league under TKO Promotions, which is expected to change the landscape of the sport forever.
So, what will the partnership involve?
As highlighted by Ring Magazine:
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 centre.
TKO’s production, media, and promotional expertise to deliver both in-arena experiences and top-tier, state-of-the-art broadcasts to fans worldwide.
How will the promotion be run?
White has already made it crystal clear:
“Boxing has become this thing where you HAVE to be undefeated for people to care about you,” White said.
“That’s all going to go away. There are lots of guys out there that we are looking at who are going to be on this roster that have a lot of 0’s behind them, and they’re all going to fight each other.”
From that statement alone, it’s evident that one of the main aims of this promotion will be to ensure the best fight the best.
What does this mean for the rest of boxing?
For starters, it could mean the end of multiple world titles.
As Turki Alalshikh has already stated on X, their intention is to have one belt and one belt only—the Ring Magazine belt.
“We have a belt... it is only 103 years old. It is the same belt Rocky won, and Joe Louis, and even Muhammad Ali, who you mention,” was Turki’s response to Ariel Helwani and Ade Oladipo discussing the topic on their show.
What does this mean for the likes of the WBA, WBO, WBC, and IBF? Only time will tell, but it’s unlikely to be news they welcomed, especially coming from the most powerful man in boxing and the most powerful man in MMA.
For fighters, this could mean a variety of changes.
Firstly, there will be far less politics. Everyone will be singing from the same hymn sheet.
As Turki has already shown, he is willing to invest heavily—but only in fights he believes deserve it.
Now, similar to the UFC, there will be a clear ranking system, making it obvious who the best fighters in the world are.
No longer will we see a fighter ranked #1 in one organisation but #17 in another.
Fighter pay has long been a contentious issue in the UFC, but boxing’s business model is completely different, so this is unlikely to become a major concern.
It remains to be seen whether fighter bonuses will be introduced, but don’t be surprised if such incentives become part of the new promotion.
The downside?
For fighters, the most significant drawback is that becoming a world champion will be much tougher. With only one belt per division, only one fighter can call themselves a world champion, whereas currently, as many as eight fighters in a single division can claim that title. While it’s the right move for the integrity of the sport, it won’t do much for fighters’ egos.
Who will broadcast the new promotion?
With no official broadcaster announced, the broadcasting rights are likely to be the hottest ticket in town.
DAZN has gone from strength to strength in recent years, making them a frontrunner. However, with ESPN reportedly not renewing their deal with Top Rank this summer, they could have significant funds available to secure a project of this magnitude.
What does this mean for the fans?
As mentioned earlier, this new structure will provide clarity. There will be no debate over who the best fighter in a particular weight division is because we will have a definitive number one.
This is what the sport has been craving for years.
It’s a groundbreaking move that will shake up the world of sport, but only time will tell whether it changes boxing for the better or worse.