“I want fighters!” His Excellency Turki Alalshikh announces the end of influencer boxing in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's Chairman of the General Authority for Entertainment, Turki Alalshikh, stated that Saudi Arabia will not partake in influencer boxing events.
Turki Alalshikh (image credit- World Today News)
Influencer boxing has become a major part of the sport in recent years due to the popularity of social media influencers such as Jake Paul, KSI, and others. Many influencer boxers have made significant PPV sales, and people feel that they have revived the sport of boxing. However, his Excellency Turki Alalshikh does not believe in this and expressed his dissatisfaction with influencer boxing.
Saudi Arabia has single-handedly revived the sport of boxing by investing in the Riyadh fighting season. Furthermore, they were able to create massive events like Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou and even bring Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder into the same card. Subsequently, they are set to host the upcoming Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk fight and the Joshua vs. Ngannou fight. As such, while speaking about the sport, Alalshikh stated:
Please, we don't want any YouTuber fights again. I want fighters. This is what I support. For me, inside my heart, I want the fighters.Turki Alalshikh via DAZN
Hence, Saudi Arabia’s Chairman of the General Authority for Entertainment made it clear that they do not want to indulge in influencer boxing. Furthermore, Alalshikh stated that he wishes to make the fights that fans want to see.
Subsequently, Alalshikh’s remark that he wants fighters instead of YouTube fights indicates that he doesn’t consider Youtubers to be fighters. This is a massive blow for influencers like KSI and Paul, especially after KSI’s promotional license was revoked by the PBA. Similarly, Paul’s promotion company is under investigation by U.S. Integrity.
Turki Alalshikh reveals what fight he wants to see in 2024
Saudi Arabia continues to uplift the sport of boxing by providing fans with the dream matchups that they want. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia has invested a lot of money to make these fights happen, which the US and UK failed to do. Subsequently, it doesn’t appear that they are done yet since Alalshikh announced a few fights he would like to see in 2024.
Furthermore, Alalshikh stated that he would like to see the winner of the Dimitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbeiv fight to move up in weight and challenge Jai Opetaia. Subsequently, Alalshikh also announced that he would like to see Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney fight.
In addition, Alalshikh stated that he would like to see these fights happen in 2024 in his country and will try his best. Hence, Saudi Arabia continues to enrich the sport of boxing and continues to give the fans the fights that they want.
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Abhijay Roy
(551 Articles Published)