Latest news with #TKOBoxing
The Independent
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Dana White cut from Canelo-Crawford promotion?
UFC supremo Dana White is no longer promoting the forthcoming mega fight between Terence Crawford and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez. An announcement on The Ring 's website states that the event, now set for 13 September in the US, will be promoted by Saudi firm Sela and not TKO Boxing, as was originally announced two weeks ago. Turki Alalshikh wrote on X: "We have confirmed the promoter for Canelo vs. Crawford will be Sela for Riyadh Season. The broadcaster we have not decided yet, but the date will be Saturday 13th September. More details soon." The principals behind the match between Crawford and Canelo have been shifting for some time. The fight had originally been planned for Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas but is now homeless (five spots are being considered in three cities) as there are football games planned that weekend in that venue. Six days ago, Alalshikh said on Twitter that he would announce 'at the right time' when and where the fight would be held. Despite this, the kick-off press conference is due to be held in Riyadh within the next few weeks. Now, it seems that TKO Boxing, which was formed when the UFC and the WWE merged last year, has lost a flagship show. The Jeddah-based Sela organises sports and hospitality events within Saudia Arabia. It is owned by the government-funded Public Investment Fund. Back in March, the firm announced that it was working in a multi-year partnership with both Alalshikh and TKO Boxing. According to its own website, Sela has played a 'pivotal role' in Crawford-Madrimov in Los Angeles and Joshua-Dubois in London. It is also the lead sponsor of Newcastle United. The usually verbose White has remained silent on his apparent ousting from the Crawford-Canelo fight promotion. At the time of writing, the last posts on his Instagram and Twitter accounts were from two days ago. Likewise, his latest Facebook post is from yesterday and was merely an update of his cover photo to promote UFC Fight Night: Blanchfield vs Barber at the end of the month.
USA Today
13-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Canelo-Crawford, with Dana White co-promoting, changed to pay-per-view –\u00a0opposite UFC 320
Canelo-Crawford, with Dana White co-promoting, changed to pay-per-view – opposite UFC 320 The TKO Boxing era is off to a start potentially rife with behind-the-scenes eyebrow raising. Earlier this month, Canelo Alvarez vs. Terrance Crawford was announced for Sept. 12 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The super-middleweight will have the Ring, WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles on the line. It also was announced that UFC CEO Dana White will be promoting Canelo vs. Crawford under TKO Boxing, a recently announced promotion between UFC parent company TKO and Saudi Arabia's Turki Alalshikh. This bout marks the first event for the TKO Boxing brand. The Sept. 12 in Las Vegas that initially was announced is a Friday. But Tuesday, it was reported by Ring Magazine – which Alalshikh purchased in 2024 – that Alalshikh has decided to move the Canelo-Crawford fight to Sept. 13, instead of Sept. 12. And that means the event will go head-to-head with the UFC 320 pay-per-view set for Guadalajara, Mexico, that same night – the annual Noche UFC event to mark Mexican Independence Day. According to the report, Alalshikh said the event will be in New York, Los Angeles or Las Vegas. In addition, instead of potential alternative broadcast options like a stream on Netflix, the boxing card will be a pay-per-view. That means combat sports fans will be in position to choose between spending pay-per-view dollars on White's UFC brand, potentially at the expense of TKO Boxing – or TKO Boxing at the expense of the UFC. When White's involvement with Alalshikh was announced, "something crazy" was promised. "We will deliver the fight of the century with Riyadh Season on Sept. 12 at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium," Alalshikh wrote on Twitter earlier this month. "The legend Canelo defends his Ring Magazine title vs. the great Terence Crawford. TV platform will be announced soon with big surprise. My brother Dana White will promote this first TKO boxing event with me. It will be something crazy." White has not yet commented publicly on the date change, but he was up front in being against the idea of the card in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas because of a built-in "hate" for stadium shows in combat sports.
USA Today
04-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford official, Dana White to promote event under TKO boxing
Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford official, Dana White to promote event under TKO boxing Canelo Alvarez vs. Terrance Crawford is official. The blockbuster boxing title fight was officially announced by Ring Magazine on Sunday following Canelo's latest title defense over William Scull. Both Canelo and Crawford faced off immediately after the bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Canelo vs. Crawford is set to take place Sept. 12, days before Mexican Independence Day, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The fight will be contested at super-middleweight, and it will have the Ring, WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles on the line. UFC CEO Dana White will be promoting Canelo vs. Crawford under TKO Boxing, a recently announced promotion between UFC parent company TKO and Saudi Arabia's Turki Alalshikh. This bout marks the first event for the TKO Boxing brand. "We will deliver the fight of the century with Riyadh Season on Sept. 12 at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium," Alalshikh wrote on Twitter. "The legend Canelo defends his Ring Magazine title vs. the great Terence Crawford. TV platform will be announced soon with big surprise. My brother Dana White will promote this first TKO boxing event with me. It will be something crazy." Canelo Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) vs. Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is easily one of the biggest fights in boxing history. Both Canelo and Crawford are considered pound-for-pound greats. Canelo, 34, holds the WBA, WBC, WBO, and The Ring super middleweight titles. Meanwhile, Crawford, who will be moving up in weight, currently holds the WBA, light middleweight title and the WBO interim light middleweight belt. Canelo is coming off a unanimous decision over William Scull this past Saturday, putting him on a six-fight wining streak since losing to Dmitry Bivol in his move up to claim WBA light heavyweight title in 2022. Crawford, undefeated in his career, last fought un August, defeating Israil Madrimov in a unanimous decision.
The Independent
11-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Inside Dana White and Turki Alalshikh's plan to ‘crush' competition with new boxing league
If you plan to revolutionise boxing, you may as well come out swinging. It's only fitting. That is exactly what Dana White and Turki Alalshikh did last week, as they announced a new boxing league set to launch in 2026. 'I trust [that] this league, in a short time, will crush everything,' Alalshikh said plainly. The 43-year-old, often referred to as His Excellency, is the Saudi adviser behind the Gulf state's aggressive entry into boxing over the last two years. He has directed the injection of hundreds of millions of dollars into the sport, as The Independent understands – an approach that has brought much-improved matchmaking but also accusations of sportswashing. White, 55, is the UFC 's president and has aided the rapid growth of mixed martial arts' flagship promotion in recent years. For the American, a friend of US President Donald Trump, business is booming; for his fighters, whose pay reportedly pales in comparison to athletes' in other top sports, it is not. In 2023, UFC's ownership group Endeavor acquired WWE, merging the professional-wrestling brand with the MMA giant to form TKO Holdings. That juggernaut has forged 'TKO Boxing', as fans are calling it for now, but why is Alalshikh involved? Firstly: Sela, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, is part of this new partnership. Secondly: it seems Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, wants to separate himself from boxing's existing institutions while continuing to alter the sport. In simpler terms: boxing has long had an issue of too many titles at each weight, as well as arguably too many weights in the first place. Alalshikh and White aim to solve these problems. 'It's all going to go away,' White told ESPN. 'We're going to have the basic weight classes that started everything. There's going to be one belt. It'll be like the UFC, the model that we have [...] and you know how you're going to know who the champion is? Because they're going to fight their way up through the gauntlet. And once you get into the top five, you know who the five baddest dudes in the heavyweight division are. And then you'll find out who the champion is. WBC, IBF, WBA, etc, they deal with those traditional promoters that are out there right now; we're not going to do that.' Boxing's original eight weight classes From a simpler time... White was referring to the World Boxing Council, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association, governing bodies that – along with the World Boxing Organization – each have world titles in boxing's 34-odd weight classes (accounting for each sex). You can see how things get convoluted, especially with agents and promoters historically protecting their assets by keeping certain boxers away from each other. Per White, it seems 'TKO Boxing' will operate as a separate entity, with fewer divisions and just one belt in each. That would be a clearer structure, yes, though one without the history and prestige of the afore-mentioned organisations. What would it mean to a fighter to be TKO champion? It's hard to say. Maybe a boxer would trade prestige for substantial pay, if TKO can provide it. Then again, the prestige of some of these organisations has already been dulled. The WBA, for example, is not recognised by boxing database Boxrec. On the other hand, some fans and pundits already question the integrity of UFC matchmaking, despite it being one of White's main selling points regarding the new boxing league; there has been a rise in 'kind' match-ups for popular UFC champions – a neglect of the rankings, which challenges the idea that the promotion is a meritocracy. In any case, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told ESPN: 'I have absolutely no concern or no negative views whatsoever [about TKO's boxing league]. I think anything that comes into boxing is sensational. I know a lot of people [...] started speculating and finding conspiracy theories or whatever, but absolutely not. 'I think the WBC should make its position public, which is [that this] is a good opportunity, because we have always supported any movement, any company, any tournaments that have been put together. I truly believe that with [TKO] and what His Excellency has done in just under two years, it should be a great thing for the sport.' What about boxing's current promoters? Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren, the most influential in Britain, were rivals from afar for years, until Alalshikh forced them to work together to make the biggest fights. Alalshikh seemingly enjoys a good relationship with both, so what of his aim to 'crush' boxing's existing power structures? Hearn told Boxing King Media: 'I've had so many people phoning me up, 'Did you hear what they said?! What are you going to do?!' I'm so chilled. Like, call it arrogance, call it delusion: I'm the best boxing promoter in the world, bar none, so I have no fear if they want to try and crush me – which I don't think is the agenda by any means. I'm bang up for it.' White has said Alalshikh will leave him to run TKO's boxing league from a business standpoint. The American has long wished to enter the boxing space in a serious way, though other ventures have materialised more quickly (see the much-derided Power Slap, which White continues to tout as a success while sharing questionable statistics). Some have doubted White's actual influence on the UFC's boom, while dismissing his ability to build something from the ground up. Regardless, he has Alalshikh's trust. Whether that trust is justified remains to be seen.
