Sorry fans, Saudi won’t save boxing
Boxing is just a stepping stone in Saudi's quest to become a sporting superpower, and they won't hesitate to abandon it once it's no longer useful.
Welcome to Sports Politika, a newsletter and media platform focused on the intersection of sports, power and politics. This newsletter was founded by investigative journalist and researcher Karim Zidan and relies on the support of readers.
If you have not done so already, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Last week, Reuters and The New York Times published separate stories revealing that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is in discussions with boxing’s leading stakeholders to establish a professional league that would effectively reshape the sport’s landscape.
Under Saudi’s ambitious proposal, which is reportedly being discussed with leading promoters including UK-based Matchroom Boxing and US-based Golden Boy Promotions, about 200 of the top men’s boxers in the world would be signed and then divided into 12 weight classes as part of a global boxing league.
Boxing is far from the first sport that the kingdom has attempted to infiltrate. Since 2016, Saudi Arabia has spent billions on high-profile international sports and entertainment events. The strategic investments are part of the kingdom’s ‘Vision 2030’ masterplan that aims to reduce Saudi’s economic dependence on oil but it also serves as a multi-pronged soft power strategy that includes boosting tourism and other economic sectors, diplomacy, and reputation laundering.
However, unlike other sports Saudi Arabia has invested in—such as football, racing, and golf—boxing has been plagued by decades of infighting among rival promoters and organizations that organize their own matches and rarely collaborate to create the most competitive and engaging fights. This fragmentation has led fans and pundits to frequently claim that the sport is “dying,” especially with the rise of more centralized combat sports like the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) gaining mainstream popularity. (It should be no surprise that the proposed boxing league resembles the UFC model. More on that below.)
Therefore, the news of a Saudi-sponosred pro league was met with elation and excitement from a segment of boxing fans, many of whom cited the kingdom’s successful efforts with heavyweight boxing over the past few years.
And yet, if the deal sounds too good to be true, that's because it is. The proposed league will encounter significant regulatory hurdles in the US, including the 1996 Professional Boxing Reform Act and the 2000 Muhammad Ali Expansion Act. It is also vulnerable to antitrust lawsuits and will likely result in the same exploitation of fighters that has become associated with the UFC.
Here are just a few reasons why Saudi Arabia won't save boxing.
We’ve seen this type of league before…
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Sports Politika to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.