It has been interesting, and surprising, to see this roll-up attempt by Turki Alalshikh, the expanding titan of pro pugilism who was unknown to any boxing fan prior to 2023. Some of his moves have to me looked counter intuitive, but the reasoning seems sound, by and large. I’m pondering Turki’s takeover play as I take in the fight week goings on leading up to the heavyweight scrap Saturday in Riyadh, and particularly, his usage of history to help advance current “storylines” and frame narratives.
If you’ve been following along, you know that a special belt is being put up by the WBC, to honor the Oleksandr Usyk–Tyson Fury rematch, which spotlights the Oct. 30, 1974, heavyweight clash of some import, the Muhammad Ali–George Foreman event “The Rumble in the Jungle.” This is a deliberate attempt to get some of that “rub” from the icons of a different age. I got that even more as I checked in on some of the celebration of the return of RING to the fray, as a print entity and online platform, during streaming coverage Wednesday afternoon.
The Mental Tug of War Between Seeing This As The Great Turki Era Or Just Jive Turki
Being a “media type” means I have a brain that looks to determine “why.” So at times I am unafraid to assess and critique…and that instinct can, I’m afraid, lapse into a certain mindset which can feature the presence of contempt prior to investigation. Been covering the sport since the mid 90s, and yeah, familiarity can breed contempt. Idealism fades into acceptance which can then over time get infected by world weariness. It is (was? should be?) baked into the gig, if you are trying to do it with integrity. I try to be aware of that potential degradation which can occur, and fight it when it flares.
I gotta say, the “flares” don’t pop us much with this Saudi experiment, which is more and more being understood to be that “unified” and singular boxing league which fans have spoken on and dreamed of for decades, than I’d have predicted about a year ago. (You think Turki just imports Teddy Atlas for the hell of it? I can see Teddy Atlas being tapped as the Turki leagues’ commissioner in 2025.)
Turki Respects OGs
Turki, the Saudi Arabian “adviser,” which is what Google labels the 43 year old fight fan who was born in 1981, will tell you that many of his favorites plied the trade in the 70s and 80s. He clearly has a fondness for Roberto Duran, and shoutout to the current chairman of the SA General Entertainment Authority, for doing something which isn’t easy.
Hyping current product by bringing up past exploits can serve as a negative comparison point, right? This isn’t the Ali era, and we should not be expecting that Usyk-Fury 2 will unfold in a manner which will have marketers in 2074 referring to the collision. Turki does it well, though, by crafting message centers to convey his desired bullet points. So, he has Mauricio Sulaiman talk about the honorary belt, and guess what, Sulaiman does a solid job in making the case for the present state of the sport, and linking that Golden Age to today’s version, which is Bronze to a semi old head.
Yes, the hitching of the Rumble in the Jungle to Saturday’s square-off struck me as counter intuitive, but handled with cleverness, it didn’t repel me. Now, are there other elements which make that construct even more sturdy? Like, how George Foreman‘s cut forced a postponement of the Rumble, and did him no favors, as he told FightsATW. Maybe the slice which happened two weeks before Usyk–Fury 1 and forced a switch from Feb 17 to May 18 interrupted momentum for the Gypsy King. And as he’s been telling up this week, his head is dialed on tighter and straighter this time, so be forewarned.
Woods Likes Usyk To Prevail On Saturday
I don’t pretend to know how it will play out. I like the older man, Usyk at 37, to fight like a guy who has an age/wear and tear edge, think that maybe Usyk‘s lifestyle gives him a better chance to get the hand raised. Fury, age 35, says he hasn’t talked to the missus in three months. Ok, spartan this go round, apparently. But before that? Fury stressed his vessel going up in down in weight, and chin wiring very rarely gets better over time.
Last point of thought–Turki’s rollup map got clearer with the purchase of RING, and who woulda thunk it? The EIC, Doug Fischer, admits after the print edition died because Oscar De La Hoya was over funding it, he wasn’t optimistic about a resurrection. But along came this Saudi Arabian guy with a meatier wallet than the prior owner, and a belief that studying history is a useful practice in that it can help one appreciate current events and subjects, like pro boxing. Interesting..and surprising…and intriguing.
That roll-up does not include Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions. Turki doesn’t hide the scope of his ambition too much, let’s see moving forward if that is a puzzle piece which he’ll need to complete his vision. Does he draw on any historical happening as a guide map on handling a rival which you wish to subsume?
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