The past couple of years Turki Alalshikh has become among the most influential and powerful figures in the sport of boxing. And that might be an understatement given the fact that his war chest has made it possible for historically important bouts such as Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury, and Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol to come to fruition.
The bottom line is that these bouts do not occur without his involvement in the boxing business. The question is if he's boxing's latest disrupter or a mainstay? That remains to be seen.
But lately the magic touch he had early on in financing major shows has taken some hits. The Times Square snafu and the sprint in Saudi Arabia involving Saul Alvarez and William Scull were critical and commercial disasters.
Riyadh Season
Alalshikh is finding out that it's a fine line in boxing between being a financier and an enabler with this current generation of boxers. Perhaps getting a bit fed up with the criticism of his last couple of cards, and recent negotiations -- and maybe even a warning signal to those who are participating in his upcoming shows -- he tweeted this out:
This post caused the usual outrage from the usual suspects who don't feel the boxers have any need to actually put on good fights. Yeah, the 'fanagers' and 'fanavists' did their usual virtue signaling and whining. Personally, my biggest objection to what Alalshikh stated was that I thought he disrespected 'Tom and Jerry', that iconic cartoon from Hanna and Barbera. Growing up, I watched their cat-and-mouse games numerous times, and while they eventually turned into friends, they put up some memorable battles for years.
I would've gone more with the 'Roadrunner' and 'Wile E. Coyote' comparison given that there was a lot of futile chasing going on with the bouts involving 'Canelo' and Devin Haney. But that's neither here nor there.
But it's clear, Alalshikh wants more entertainment value for his money. Like many others who watch boxing, he has the temerity to want to see action. Yeah, the nerve of this guy. Imagine putting up money for fights and asking to see landed punches. This guy is a regular blood-thirty savage.
Seriously though, Alalshikh isn't asking -- like some -- to have any rules changed in the sport. The reality is that he needs to show more discernment in the fights that he makes. It's really that simple. Reward those who meet your criteria, and ignore those who don't. That's the advantage of not having exclusive long-term commitments to boxers, you can just pick and choose what fights you want to make.
It reminds me of the famous story told to me by Larry Merchant, during his days as a newspaperman in New York. He was at a fight at Madison Square Garden involving this one particularly reluctant boxer who was rather judicious in his punch output. In-between one of the rounds, legendary matchmaker, Teddy Brenner, went over to the corner and told that boxer that if he didn't start throwing some punches, he wouldn't get paid.
Riyadh Season
Merchant doesn't really recall the results of the fight, or if he got paid. But he says they never saw him used again by Brenner at MSG.
The point here is that Alalshikh has to be a better matchmaker. He isn't the czar of boxing, 'His Excellency' does not have the power to change the Marquis of Queensbury regulations, nor should he. What he needs to exercise is more discipline in his approach to making match-ups. Having recognizable boxers facing one another isn't a guaranteed formula for good fights. May 2 is proof of that.
Just paying them exorbitantly will not increase their effort, or alter their styles inside the ring. It simply doesn't work that way. And the uncomfortable truth is that many of today's modern day boxers have an increased sense of entitlement, with very little regard for living up to their obligations to move the sport forward.
Riyadh Season
There are reports that there will be an 18-by-18 ring used for the July 12th card where Shakur Stevenson defends his WBC lightweight title versus William Zepeda. Whether this alone will make this into a slugfest remains to be seen. But it has to be stated, if you need a football field sized ring to box effectively, maybe what you're doing isn't really boxing.
Boxers have the right to box in any manner they see it. Fans have the right to support what tickles their fancy. And Mr. Alalshikh ultimately has the power to make the fights he sees fit.
So this isn't really on them, but 𝘩𝘪𝘮.
