Boxing
Devin Haney uses Conor Benn’s $15 million as a benchmark
Reports indicate that Benn’s fight against Regis Prograis, which will take place on the Netflix card on April 11, is being financed by the support of Seli Turki Alalshikh, rather than routine promotional operating budgets. TKO president Mark Shapiro emphasized this distinction on the financial call, stating that the purse is “Saudi money, not TKO money.” This explanation places Benn’s payout in the context of funding a specific event rather than the underlying economics of the company.
Haney understands this comparison, as he decisively defeated Prograis in December 2023 to win the WBC junior welterweight title. If Prograis now appears alongside Benn in an eight-figure exhibition, Haney could argue that the hierarchy supports a higher valuation for a fighter who has already won the fight.
The complication is durability. Saudi-backed events operate on selective, state-backed funding that is not mirrored by customary American and British organizers. Haney competes primarily in the U.S. market, where pay-per-view sales and box office revenues still determine how high real revenues can be. If it sets a price at Saudi levels, some promoters may simply walk away rather than stretch their budgets to match it.
Variability adds another variable. Frank Warren’s Queensberry has reportedly filed a lawsuit against TKO and Sela over the creation of Zuffa Boxing, which has created uncertainty about the same platform generating these headlines. Legal disputes don’t automatically halt business, but they do make it more hard to transact in a market still adapting to novel money.
Haney occupies the commercial middle ground. Garcia has shown significant pay-per-view viewership growth, while Stevenson’s reputation rests more on skill recognition than on big-event revenue. By publicly raising the Benn number, Haney compresses perceived trade separation and forces the market to reassess value levels in real time.
What remains unresolved is whether the broader U.S. market will be able to maintain Saudi-level guarantees. It’s clear that Haney has set the price publicly and the next promoter who calls will have to pick it up.
Ben Whittaker’s next few months are already taking shape following his quick knockout victory in Liverpool, and Adam Smith outlines a busy summer schedule that should finally see the delicate heavyweight fighter face stronger tests
Smith said Whittaker is expected to return to the United States in overdue June on the Jaron “Boots” Ennis card, then return to the UK in the summer for a major date in his hometown of Birmingham.
Whittaker stopped Brian Suarez in two rounds last weekend and performed brilliantly throughout, adding another early finish to the stretch that helped rebuild attention around him after his first fight with Liam Cameron ended in a draw.
Smith said the June outing would support expose Whittaker to a wider audience ahead of a bigger national night later in the year.
“He will fight at the end of June in America at the Boots Ennis gala. That’s good. Show him to a global audience. Then he will come back here in overdue summer, maybe early September and fight in Birmingham in a huge fight,” Adam Smith said in an interview with Sport Boxing.
Smith also named British opponents who could be next, naming Lyndon Arthur, Brad Rea and Craig Richards as possible options once Whittaker returns home.
Smith believes that in the long term, bigger domestic fights with Joshua Buatsi and Anthony Yard should come within the next year if Whittaker continues to win.
“Buatsis and Yards need to be delivered within the next 6-12 months.”
Whittaker has had a lot of notoriety since turning pro, but the activity and matchmaking are looking more grave now. The next two fights should tell more than the first ten.
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Last updated: 24/04/2026 at 17:38
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