As a 93-year-old kingpin of Top Rank and arguably one of boxing’s most enduring promoters, Bob Arum has seen it all, and he isn’t afraid of talking about it. In a candid sit-down with Cigar Talk on YouTube, the Hall of Fame figure didn’t hold back. When asked how fighters like Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington, Abdullah Mason, and Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis ended up as “Ring Magazine ambassadors” under Alalshikh’s wing, Arum offered a measured yet revealing response.
“Everybody should support what’s happening in Riyadh because it’s only good for the sport. To have our fighters as ambassadors, I think that’s a good thing,” Arum told the interviewer. He clarified that the Saudi involvement wasn’t about stealing talent but fostering it: “The Saudis are not looking to have any of our fighters breach their contracts and leave Top Rank…particularly Turki—he has a lot of respect for contracts.”
Still, there were growing pains. According to the Brooklyn-born promoter, the first big slip-up involved heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson—better known as Big Baby. “They fell in love with one of our fighters…And they went directly to him…with all this money. And so he was bound and determined,” Arum said, revealing how the young boxer felt pressured into a fight he wasn’t ready for. “Now that doesn’t work,” he added dryly.
Since then, though, the Saudis seem to have changed their game plan. Arum noted that these days, “If they want one of our fighters in a fight, they come to us and they discuss. And if it’s to everybody’s advantage—particularly the fighter—we say yes.”
It’s a new frontier for the sport—one where ambition meets oil-backed diplomacy, and where a fighter’s path to stardom might pass through Riyadh before Madison Square Garden. As Bob Arum put it best: “It’s good for the Saudis, good for our fighters who pick up some extra money and become ambassadors, whatever that means.” Whether boxing purists like it or not, the reshaping of the ring might just be coming with a gold-plated handshake—and a Saudi stamp of approval.
Turki Alalshikh ditches pay-per-view model to reshape boxing economics
In a move that’s left both fans and industry insiders buzzing, Turki Alalshikh has officially declared the end of the pay-per-view era—for Riyadh Season and The Ring boxing events on DAZN, that is. The influential Saudi sports chief took to X on July 16, 2025, to announce what may go down as one of the most disruptive shifts in modern boxing broadcast history. “Great meeting with my brother Shay, CEO of DAZN,” he posted. “We have big vision to grow boxing and decide: No More Pay-Per-View.”
The declaration marks a full-circle moment for DAZN, the very platform that initially promised to kill the PPV model when it launched in 2018, only to revive it in 2022, much to the ire of longtime fans. Now, with Alalshikh steering the ship and the financial muscle of Saudi Arabia behind him, the promise is finally being fulfilled: beginning with The Ring IV on November 22 at Riyadh’s ANB Arena, all future Riyadh Season and Ring Magazine events will stream free for DAZN subscribers. “The PPV model has damaged boxing, and we will no longer support it,” he added. “We are with the fight fans.”
That said, the PPV model won’t vanish overnight. Two major DAZN events will still carry the traditional price tag before the free-to-subscriber policy kicks in. First, the undisputed heavyweight showdown between Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium—organized independently by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions—will run fans $59.99 in the U.S. and £24.99 in the UK. Then comes the British heavyweight clash between young gun Moses Itauma and veteran Dillian Whyte, which, although hosted in Riyadh, isn’t tied to the Ring or Riyadh Season series.
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