Dana White and Turki Alalshikh have announced a deal has been reached to begin their new ground-breaking boxing promotion.
UFC president White has had huge success with the MMA promotion growing it to unprecedented heights, which sees it now valued at around $12 billion.
X – Turki AlalshikhWhite and Alalskikh have agreed a deal for their exciting new venture[/caption]
White has always spoken of his desire to try and replicate the model in boxing, and reports emerged that he was in talks with Saudi boxing chief Alalshikh over the creation of a boxing league.
TKO Holdings, owners of the UFC and wrestling promotion WWE were understood to be behind the new league, a ground-breaking new venture which will see super-fights and superstars made.
And the venture has now been announced with White and Alalshikh putting pen to paper and shaking hands on the agreement.
It will also see WWE president Nick Khan form part of the top table, in a deal set to be worth millions as White looks to break into the sport.
The league is set to launch this year and is a historic change for the sport, as the age-old traditions continue to be challenged.
Alalshikh announced the deal on social media and released a full statement on the details of the league.
It read: “A highly structured system to develop new talent from around the world, including athlete combines and academies
“Access for all boxers to the UFC Performance Institute, the world’s leading combat sports performance training, research, rehabilitation, and nutrition center.
“TKO’s production, media, and promotional expertise, to deliver both in-arena experiences and top-tier, state-of-the-art broadcasts to fans around the world.
“Further details about the new boxing promotion, including fighter signings, fight schedules, venues, and host locations, will be revealed in the coming months.
GettyWhite and Alalshikh have huge plans for the league which will launch in 2025[/caption]
“Today marks a new chapter in boxing history.”
White and Alalshikh then released a video together where they discussed the new venture.
He added: “We’ve just done a deal to start a new boxing league when Turki absolutely loves the sport of boxing.
“We want to deliver the fights the fans want to see. The best will fight the best and the fighters will continue to move up the rankings.
“And when they do they will then become world champions. We will announce more details on where you can watch and other details as we get closer to launch.”
It is an exciting time for the sport with more investment than ever to try and drive world-class events on a regular basis.
Alalshikh has already arrived in the sport and changed the game, putting on huge events worldwide such as Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois.
More huge events are planned including the likes of Terence Crawford vs Canelo Alvarez, events which will be separate to the new TKO banner.
White’s UFC model has been a huge success, driving huge revenue and pay-per-view numbers, as well as creating superstars such as Conor McGregor and Jon Jones.
He was able to effectively monopolise the sport of MMA and hope could well be that he can do so again in the sweet science.
Previous details revealed plans are already expansive and grand, with four ‘super fights’ intending to be delivered in 2026.
It couldn’t be a more exciting time for the sport, as groundbreaking new initiatives continue to try and break the mould.
