Dana White has contradicted Turki Alalshikh’s recent assurances to promoters that a new Boxing League can work alongside other companies.
The UFC boss gave a highly alternative vision when discussing his plans for the league, which was born last week at a press conference featuring WWE boss Nick Khan, Alalshikh, and White.
“I want to break the sport down and build it from the ground up, “White told Fight Hub TV. “My model is totally different. The things that he’s obligated to over the next eighteen months [have to play out]. [But] I want to break the sport down and build it from the ground up like we did with the UFC, so I’m on a different path.
White’s words come just days after Alalshikh opened a social media space and contradicted previous comments stating he wanted the new company to ‘crush the competition’ from other promotions.
Whether he had been lost in translation wasn’t addressed, but the Saudi Arabian matchmaker assured Eddie Hearn, Oscar De La Hoya, and others that there was room for everyone.
“This league is a project not against anyone,” Alalshikh said. “It’s not against the commission, and it’s not against the promoters. This is my opinion, and this is from my side.”
“It is a project that will have space in the market. We will still see the four belts, the commissions, and the promoters. The market is huge and no one can delete anyone from the market.”
He added, “I see what happened in the last week [everyone speaking out and wondering]. I understand the panic in the market because there are a lot of companies and a lot of promoters.
“What I want to say is that we care about the fans and the fighters. We support the fans and the fighters. We will continue doing the big fights for the people.”
🚨“I want to BREAK the sport DOWN and build it from the ground up!”- Dana White
-Dana White on fixing boxing-Promotiong Canelo vs Crawford
🔗: https://t.co/PzzLDB9cqE#Boxing #TKO pic.twitter.com/70NUBK2NSm
— Fight Hub TV (@FightHubTV) March 17, 2025
However, the Mixed Martial Arts advocate wasn’t as welcoming when asked if he’d work with Hearn and De La Hoya in the future.
“I don’t know. I don’t know how that’s going to play out. Yeah, we’ll see. I don’t know,” he confirmed, in attendance to witness Irishman Callum Walsh’s first-round KO of Dean Sutherland at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Furthermore, reports are rife that TKO Group Holdings, the parent company behind the TKO Boxing League, will stage its first event alongside Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford in Las Vegas this September.
Alalshikh promised an announcement that would be forthcoming, but not until Canelo defeated William Scull on May 3.
“We will not announce all the details before the third [of May]. But there is surprise about who will be the promoter of this big fight [possibly White and TKO] and the platform [maybe Netflix] on which you will see the big fight,” stated Alalshikh.
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Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010.
