Turki Alalshikh continues to break new ground in the boxing world and earlier today, he made a huge announcement with the UFC boss, Dana White.
Since he joined the boxing world, Turki Alalshikh has become widely regarded as the savior of the sport, putting together some of the biggest fights in recent memory.
A few weeks ago, Turki put on a huge undisputed light heavyweight title rematch between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, showcasing the work he continues to do in the sport.
Alalshikh’s plan for boxing in the long-run is to get all top fighters under one promotion and one sanctioning body, making it easier for the fans to follow.
Turki Alalshikh announces new boxing league with Dana White
And his long-term plan is seemingly taking shape as earlier this Wednesday, Alalshikh made a huge announcement that he and UFC boss, Dana White, have created their new boxing league.
For several years now, White has teased at going ‘all in’ on the boxing world and since the UFC partnered with Riyadh Season, he teased that he and Alalshikh were in talks to create a new, ground-breaking league.
“I’m excited, I wouldn’t be where I am today without boxing and the sport of boxing is where I started and I felt like it was something that could never be fixed until (Turki Alalshikh) showed up, he has done more for boxing than any promoter in the history of the sport combined,” White told the Ring Magazine.
“I am very happy today. I give the flag of boxing to the best man who can handle it, (Dana White). He has a tough job but I am sure he will get boxing great again,” Alalshikh commented.
The new boxing league will follow a simple format of one set of rankings per weight class with only one title per weight class.
Boxing fans react to the new TKO Boxing league
Although it will likely take a while for TKO Boxing to sign big names in the sport, with the backing of Alalshikh, anything seems possible in the long-run.
And with that, fans have expressed both excitement and skepticism for the new format.
“Love it! Sick of all of these big fights not getting made because of selfish promoters arguing over who gets the biggest slice, or fighters scared to take a challenge so that they can stay undefeated. Boxing should be modeled like the UFC,” one fan commented.
One concern fans have expressed is the UFC’s current pay model. UFC fighters are historically not paid anywhere near the same amount as boxers, which has sparked concern amongst the boxing fanbase.
“We don’t want Dana White in boxing. Look at how he’s sunk the UFC in recent years with mediocre weekly cards, a lack of ambition (using the UFC Apex), refusing to solve the glove issue, terrible fighter pay, political propaganda,” another fan said.
More details regarding where you can watch and the rest of the details on the business will be announced closer to the launch of the league.