THE influence of Turki Alalshikh continues to grow with news released today that two of the biggest promotional companies in America will work alongside Riyadh Season.
Having forged working relationships with Matchroom and Queensberry Promotions which has seen the likes of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury fight in Saudi Arabia there is now a fresh appetite for Alalshikh to expand his plans Stateside.
In the February 8 issue of Boxing News Alalshikh topped our list of the 50 Most Influential In Boxing. We wrote: “At the time of writing, there is no one man more influential in this sport than the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh.” Five months on and he is still in that position.
With Riyadh Season about to make their American mark on August 3 with their show at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, headlined by Israil Madrimov vs. Terence Crawford, there would appear to be no better time for them to make a bigger splash across the pond.
In a press release Golden Boy Promotions said their partnership with Riyadh Season is “Aimed at bolstering the promotion of top-tier boxing events throughout the world.” The collaboration will begin on August 10 when Vergil Ortiz Jr challenges Serhii Bohachuk for the WBC super-welterweight interim belt in Las Vegas.
Top Rank used similar language describing their own partnership with Riyad Season as “Designed to continue to drive the promotion of world-class boxing events globally.” They revealed that 12 Top Rank events would be sponsored by Riyadh Season, “Selected by the promoter (Bob Arum) during the remainder of this year and 2025.”
Riyadh Season will also come to the UK for the first time on September 21 when they, Matchroom and Queensberry combine to bring a six-fight card at Wembley Stadium headlined by the IBF heavyweight world title fight between Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua.