BN Weekly Columnist Joe Hughes He has called for “Tank” to step up and warned that not all that glitters in boxing is gold.
This week there was news that representatives from Saudi Arabia may be buying the world's largest boxing promotion company, which could dramatically change the sport, hopefully for the better.
The creation of a “World Boxing League” has been discussed before, but has never been as realistic as it is now. With multiple top-level promoters each having their own individual contracts with boxers, managers, sponsors, television companies, etc., organizing one major bout, especially one involving two boxers from rival promotional organizations, would be extremely difficult, especially given the number of fighters that are currently said to be able to be assembled.
But no interested party has ever had the financial backing of Saudi Arabia's Turki Arashik, and it's entirely possible that he could buy out all the other parties, or at least their contracts, giving him control over the careers of some of the sport's biggest names.
Turki Al Sheikh (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
This could increase the likelihood and frequency of big fights. It could also hurt boxing in unexpected ways. Competition always breeds success, and when top-level boxing promotions go head-to-head like that, it could have a negative impact after the excitement of the initial wave of big fights all at once. It could be venturing into uncharted territory for boxing.
One of the big stars who could potentially get the fights we want to see lured in by Saudi Arabian money is in action this weekend: Gervonta Davis is arguably one of the best lightweight boxers in the world, and maybe one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, but he's yet to prove it.
His career has been one disappointment after another in terms of opponents. This weekend he faces Frank Martin in what should be a good fight, but there are plenty of other more intriguing fights he could be in. Shakur Stevenson, Vasyl Lomachenko and William Cepeda are just a few of the fights that could be better at lightweight.
So far, he's seemed to be kept away by a few names, including Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney, and the aforementioned Lomachenko. He may well be the best of them all, as evidenced by his biggest win, a one-sided win over Ryan Garcia, but he needs to prove it by beating the best fighter in the world in the ring.
