Turki Alalshikh’s relationships with key boxing promoters in the UK are under recent scrutiny after Ring magazine reported sedate internal conflicts involving Queensberry.
The situation escalated when the platform attached a community note to the post, increasing scrutiny over the claims.
Ring Report Describes ‘Unrepairable Fissure’
Ring Magazine claimed that Alalshikh and Sela were informed that rumors of litigation had been leaked from Queensberry, causing what was described as an “irreparable rift”.
The report also referred to what it described as cordial public communication, while alleging volatility behind the scenes.
If this account is exact, this is more than just routine friction in the boxing industry. It suggests the Saudi-led operation is poised to redefine who controls boxing’s biggest nights.
Simon Jordan predicted that promoters would become disposable
Years before the current dispute, talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan questioned how long established promoters would remain necessary if the money and matchmaking opportunities were located elsewhere.
“We’re in a special time; these guys are making these fights specifically for them. They just show up, and for me it’s not a huge skill set.”
He added: “I wonder if the end game for the Saudis will be to say, ‘Why do we need these guys? These are glorified agents; we can get the fighters’.”
Jordan’s most direct statement got to the heart of the promoter’s question: “If I was the money in the room, unless there was a damn good reason why I would hang out with Hearn and [Frank] Warren? If I can economically turn off the lights, why do I need it?”
At the time, Jordan’s comments sounded confrontational. This week’s news sounds like a warning that’s starting to sink in.
From early praise to growing opposition
When Alalshikh first came to the fore, many fans and sections of the media praised him as a savior who was able to finance fights that boxing was unable to consistently fight on its own.
Over time, this goodwill was shattered. The incidents, messaging and the feeling of tighter control irritated some audiences who had initially welcomed the purchasing power.
As boxing enters this phase, credibility debates are already heating up, with Alalshikh’s latest moves fueling what many are now calling a heel turn.
The situation of Conor Benn moving to Zuffa Boxing remains a dominant topic of conversation in the UK and has helped create a wider atmosphere where fans are questioning governance and accountability across the sport.
Why British promoters were vulnerable
The UK promoter model has long been the strongest at home. Beyond their own country, both Warren and Hearn would be the first to admit they needed a partner to shift the burden of finance and platforms overseas.
Saudi Arabia offered profuse facilities and guaranteed scale that made cooperation a no-brainer. But as Alalshikh began signing contracts with “Ring Ambassadors” and establishing direct relationships, it became increasingly tough to ignore where this leverage was heading.
In boxing, promoters rarely disappear overnight. First they become less crucial.
The bigger question: is this model hard-wearing?
There is also a longer view that cannot be pushed aside. A model built around centralized financing can quickly transform boxing, but it also creates dependence on a single power center, and that always carries risks.
If attention turns and funding begins to boost, the sport may find itself vulnerable. This is the problem of any system that becomes too dependent on one center of power, no matter how productive the initial results seem.
The problem is no longer theoretical – it is playing out in real time.
Jordan’s quotes explain why some saw this moment coming – even if few believed it would come so bluntly.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
“Well, he has his team there and I’m not criticizing anyone, but in both fights his tactics weren’t good,” Peter said in an interview with Sport Boxing.
“It worked out badly because look, if we have a little guy here who can throw, let’s say, a welterweight who can throw a thousand punches, and we have a heavyweight, will a heavyweight fighter throw a thousand punches with him? No.”
“Or maybe he’ll step in and take one good shot? Absolutely.”
“So basically yes, the strategy was just wrong. It doesn’t mean Usyk was better than him. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t say anything. You misunderstand the tactics and they are wrong.
“And you know, when you look at Usyk’s structure and what he does, when he distances himself and tries to box an elite boxer who is lighter than you and who is giving away pounds, he will ping you all over the shop. That should be noticed,” Peter Fury said.
Tyson Fury announced his return earlier this year and is expected to have a preparatory fight before the start of his scheduled series with Anthony Joshua. Queensbury promoter Frank Warren recently confirmed that Fury’s next opponent could be announced in the coming days, with the long-awaited fight against Joshua expected to take place later this year.
Usyk remains at the top of the heavyweight division and has been ordered to fight WBC interim champion Agit Kabayel. Warren also confirmed that negotiations for the fight are ongoing.
Fury’s third meeting with Usyk has not been announced. Peter Fury, however, remains convinced that the strategy used in the first two fights determined the result.
Jorge Kahwagi achieved something almost impossible in professional boxing. The Mexican politician retired with a perfect record of 12-0, knocked out every opponent he faced, and finished his entire career in just 15 rounds.
On paper, this looks like one of the most devastating runs the sport has ever seen. In fact, many boxing fans wondered if they even believed it.
Perfect record
Kahwagi turned professional in 2001, despite having no boxing experience. Over the next fourteen years, he set an undefeated record, won regional titles, and never once heard the final bell.
Twelve fights brought twelve victories. All twelve victories were by knockout in just fifteen rounds.
The numbers are tough to understand even now.
Several of Kahwagi’s opponents entered the ring in defeat. Others seemed hopelessly outmatched.
But the record continued to grow as the politician and businessman rose through the cruiserweight ranks without ever being seriously tested.
By the time he retired in 2015 after returning from a ten-year hiatus for one final fight, Kahwagi owned one of boxing’s most remarkable undefeated records.
Why fans never bought it
The controversy surrounding Kahwaga was not in itself. This is how some of these victories turned out.
His last fight against Ramon Olivas remains the fight most frequently mentioned in discussions about Kahwagi’s career. The break came after seemingly minimal contact, prompting criticism from fans and observers.
Doubts have already surrounded previous victories, including the victory over veteran Roberto Coelho.
Whether these doubts were justified or not, the damage was done and many fans never accepted Kahwagi’s record at face value.
WBC
Boxing has seen this before
Kahwagi’s record may be extraordinary, but in boxing there is always controversy when it comes to results.
As WBN reports, while John Riel Casimero faces a fight-fixing investigation in 2025, debates continue to arise in the contemporary era about what happens inside the ropes.
Long before that, Roy Jones Jr. denied winning Olympic gold in Seoul despite dominating Park Si-hun in what many still consider the greatest heist in boxing history.
More than thirty years later, Park returned the medal to Jones.
The Kahwagi case falls into a different category, but the result is often the same. Once fans stop believing what they’re watching, the debate never really stops.
Still one of the strangest
Few fighters retire with a perfect record, and even fewer retire after every knockout victory.
Kahwagi handled both, finishing his entire professional career in just 15 innings, and those numbers remain remarkable.
More than a decade after his retirement, the debate surrounding his record has never really died down.
That’s why Jorge Kahwagi’s perfect 12-0 record remains one of the strangest in boxing history.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
One of the most coveted fights in boxing right now is the lithe heavyweight clash between unified champion Dmitry Bivol and WBC ruler David Benavidez for the undisputed 175-pound crown.
However, two-division world champion Teofimo Lopez believes that the fight could end in a “massacre”.
“The Mexican Monster” has since won the unified cruiserweight crown, but maintains he would be willing to cut weight to face Bivol and claim the undisputed honors.
Speaking on Inside The Ring programLopez renamed Benavidez the “Massacre Monster” when discussing the potential fight, believing the age difference between the two lithe heavyweight champions could be crucial to the outcome of the fight.
“I’m going to call Benavidez a ‘massacre monster’ because, man, [that performance against Ramirez] it was nasty. It’s really nasty, really.
“He [Benavidez] enters its flowering period, while the other [Bivol] is on the way out. You have to think about these things too.”
Bivol fulfilled his IBF obligation by defending his belts against Michael Eifert last weekend, but the WBO ordered him to face mandatory challenger Callum Smith in order to retain the WBO belt.
As a result, it appears that a potential Bivol-Benavidez clash will have to wait until 2027, with Beterbiev also being considered for the trilogy.
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