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 indicated it is willing to spend billions of dollars to achieve this.

But we can’t lose sight of the things that made boxing so great in the past.

Boxing was great when big fights were fought regularly in the big cities and fans poured into the arenas and stadiums to watch them. And boxing was great when small fight clubs flourished, where the best fighters from local neighborhoods fought each other. There are reports that Riyadh season plans a “boxing competition” for young prospects in collaboration with TKO. Competitive fights must be competitive matches contested in locations that represent the prospects. And major Riyadh Season fights should be held in cities around the world (as Riyadh Season has already done in Los Angeles and London), not just Saudi Arabia.

Boxing was great when there was one champion in each weight class and the fans knew who the champions were. Boxing was also great when the heavyweight championship of the world was the most coveted title in the sport and the only way the champion could lose his title was in the ring. Riyadh Season now subsidizes the world’s sanctions authorities by paying hundreds of millions of dollars in purses (which are reduced for sanctions costs) and millions more dollars in direct sponsorship fees. It should continue its efforts to unify titles (e.g. Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury and Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol) and refuse to do business with any entity that contributes to unfairly stripping a champion of his title (such as the IBF did with Usyk). .

Boxing was great when fighters shook hands at weigh-ins instead of swearing and pushing each other. Riyadh Season should impose significant fines for misconduct during combat events.

Boxing was great when the ring was empty during fighter introductions except for the ring announcer, the referee, the fighters and the fighters’ key seconds. Fans don’t want to see officials from sanctioning bodies, hangers-on and other non-combatants in the ring before the 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. The Riyadh season should require and fund year-round Vada testing for all fighters fighting under the banner.

Boxing was great when fans knew what a skilled professional fighter was and didn’t confuse legitimate professionals with famous cheats. The Riyadh season should avoid periods that feature fighters whose main credential is their social media presence and marketing potential.

Boxing was great when fights were on ‘free’ television and fans didn’t have to pay a daily wage to watch them. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund is reportedly close to completing the purchase of a substantial stake in DAZN. That gives it extra leverage in determining how much fans should pay to see big fights. Pay-per-view advocates say too many fights on free television have “killed boxing.” That’s nonsense. The flood of professional and college football on free television in the United States has not “killed” football. On the contrary; it elevated football to a colossus.

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

Boxing was great when tradition was respected and skill was more important than hype. Simply saying a fighter is “great” doesn’t make him great. Saying a fight is a “historic matchup” does not make it a historic matchup. The Riyadh Season aims to avoid disrespecting great fighters past and present by diluting the standard for greatness.

I don’t look at the past through rose-colored glasses. I know there was abuse back then. Black fighters were often not given equal opportunities. Organized crime controlled large parts of the company. But Turki Alalshikh has the power to set goals and implement them in a way that is consistent with the things that made boxing great. I hope he chooses that.