Hearn Shrugs Off Dana White And The Saudis’ Boxing League – ‘I’m The Best’
Eddie Hearn is unfazed by Dana White and the Saudis’ decision to launch a boxing league.
TKO Group Holdings Inc. and the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s subsidiary company, Sela, have come together to launch the new venture. It is believed that their first event could take place in September, raising speculation that it could be Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford. That naturally raises question marks over Matchroom Boxing.
Matchroom developed a close relationship with the Saudis, having put on some of the biggest shows in the sport. The most recent one was the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol rematch, which the latter won to become undisputed at 175. But Turki Alalshikh’s following comments suggest that his plans may be to overtake the sport.
Saudi Vision
“First of all, he’s not only the CEO now for UFC, he’s the CEO of the new company. Also, second, I cannot do anything without the support of my Crown Prince. First of all, the king. God bless him, and the Crown Prince, our leader. He supports us in everything we have.
“If you want to fix boxing or any sport or doing some big project like this, we will not have any options better than Dana White. And when I see him in this hotel before one year (ago), with our friend Nick (Khan, TKO board member), and we are talking about this … we go on back, and we have the same vision. And I trust (that) this league, in short time, will crush everything,” Turki Alalshikh said
That could diminish the influence of Matchroom and other promoters such as Queensbury Promotions. Alalshikh has shown he has the capital to compete with the best promoters, given the amount of money he can invest in the sport. White has also shown he knows what it takes to create a global brand. He took the UFC from a company worth around $200 million and took it to a billion-dollar company. White has also pulled away from any other competing promotional company, as they simply cannot compete.
Hearn Reacts
Although that may be the case, White has received criticism for not paying fighters enough. That could still pave the way for Matchroom to have a say since they are the biggest boxing promotional company out there. Matchroom also has business involvement in various sports other than boxing, such as darts and snooker. Hearn was not worried about the competition.
“Did you hear what [Dana White and Turki Alalshikh] said? What are you going to do? I’m so chill. Like, you can call it arrogance or you can 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, by any means, the agenda. But, I’m bang up for it. I believe in myself and I’ve got 35 shows a year regardless of Riyadh Season,” Hearn said
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