Make boxing great again? Here are a few suggestions | Thomas Hauser

On January 14, 2025, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh posted a message on social media that read, “MAKE BOXING GREAT AGAIN.”

That’s a noble goal. And the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority has signaled its willingness to spend billions of dollars to achieve it.

But we should not lose sight of the things that made boxing great in the past.

Boxing was great when big fights were contested regularly in major cities and fans poured into arenas and stadiums to watch them. And boxing was great when small fight clubs flourished with the best fighters from local neighborhoods fighting each other. There have been reports that Riyadh Season is planning a “boxing league” for young prospects in conjunction with TKO. League fights should be competitive match-ups contested in locales that the prospects represent. And major Riyadh Season fights should be held in cities throughout the world (as Riyadh Season has already done in Los Angeles and London), not just in Saudi Arabia.

Boxing was great when there was one champion in each weight division and fans knew who the champions were. Boxing was also great when the heavyweight championship of the world was the most coveted title in sports and the only way the champion could lose his title was in the ring. Riyadh Season is now subsidizing the world sanctioning bodies by paying hundreds of millions of dollars in purses (which are cut for sanctioning fees) and millions of dollars more in direct sponsorship fees. It should continue its effort to unify titles (for example, Oleksandr Usyk v Tyson Fury and Artur Beterbiev v Dmitry Bivol) and decline to do business with any entity that contributes to unfairly stripping a champion of his belt (as the IBF did with Usyk).

Boxing was great when fighters shook hands at weigh-ins instead of cursing at and shoving each other. Riyadh Season should impose substantial fines for misconduct at fight-related events.

Boxing was great when the ring was empty during fighter introductions except for the ring announcer, the referee, the fighters, and the fighters’ chief seconds. Fans don’t want to see sanctioning-body officials, hangers-on, and other non-combatants in the ring before fights. Riyadh Season should keep them out.

Boxing was great when fighters trained diligently without the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to gain an unfair advantage over their opponents. Riyadh Season should require and fund year-round Vada testing for all fighters who fight under its banner.

Boxing was great when fans knew what a skilled professional fighter was and didn’t confuse legitimate professionals with celebrity imposters. Riyadh Season should avoid bouts that feature fighters whose primary credential is their social media presence and marketing potential.

Boxing was great when fights were shown on “free” television and fans didn’t have to pay a day’s wages to watch them. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is reportedly close to finalizing the purchase of a substantial interest in DAZN. That will give it added leverage in determining how much fans are required to pay to see big fights. Apologists for pay-per-view say that too many fights on free television “killed boxing.” That’s nonsense. The flow of professional and college football on free television in the United States didn’t “kill football.” To the contrary; it elevated football into a colossus.

Boxing was great when there were knowledgeable writers who wrote honestly about the sport and business without fear of retribution. Riyahd Season should end the policy of denying accreditation to responsible journalists simply because they have written articles that the powers that be don’t like. Writers should not have to choose between giving up their credibility or their credential. The Ring (which Turki Alalshikh bought last year) should welcome writers with divergent points of view. And the Ring ratings should be determined by an impartial panel of experts who fairly rank all fighters, not just those aligned with Riyadh Season.

Boxing was great when tradition was respected and skills were more important than hype. Simply saying that a fighter is “great” doesn’t make them great. Saying that a fight is a “historic match-up” doesn’t make it a historic match-up. Riyadh Season should avoid disrespecting great fighters from the present and past by watering down the standard for greatness.

I’m not looking at the past through rose-colored glasses. I know there were abuses back then. Black fighters were often denied equal opportunity. Organized crime controlled wide swaths of the business. But Turki Alalshikh has the power to set goals and implement them in a way that’s consistent with the things that made boxing great. I hope he chooses to do so.

• Thomas Hauser’s email address is [email protected]. His most recent book – a memoir titled My Mother and Me – is a personal memoir that was published by Admission Press.