The tag ‘face of boxing’ has been claimed by many fighters over the years. Fans and analysts can usually spot a pretender from a real contender. Famed trainer turned analyst Teddy Atlas believes he is the first to recognise who currently carries the mantle.
Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson may be the best examples from generations gone by. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao then have a good case to make for the sport’s most front and centre icon.
In recent times few could argue against Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez’ star power, but growing in popularity are the likes of Gervonta Davis, Terence Crawford and even, as he likes to remind his critics, Jake Paul.
The Paul example makes an argument that ‘the face of boxing’ doesn’t bring skill into the equation, rather just notoriety and drawing power. It’s a take some would debate against strongly.
Speaking on his podcast The Fight, Atlas bypassed fighters entirely in his pick for ‘the face of boxing’ to instead choose Saudi Arabia’s Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh.
“The face of boxing, yeah I’ll say it, the face of boxing… I was the first to say it. Turki Alalshikh, who’s changed boxing. Dramatically changed the face of boxing, right now.”
Atlas pointed to Alalshikh’s backing of the potential meeting of two pound-for-pound stars in Crawford and Canelo as evidence.
“The new face of boxing, Turki Alalshikh, he announced that he’s putting out an offer to Canelo to fight Crawford. Wow. He’s shaking up boxing, he’s making it relevant again.”
Alalshikh’s name is now mentioned alongside any big fight. Boxing cards the world over, for better or worse, have become sort of auditions to catch the 42-year-old’s eye and land a slot on a Riyadh Season event. He has brought promoters together, ending years of fraught relationships.
The leaked early plans of a boxing super league – in which sanctioning bodies would largely be irrelevant, at least as many of them as there currently are – would see a UFC-style system where top contenders face off regardless of promotional or broadcast commitments. Should that materialise, Alalshikh’s influence on the sport would increase significantly.
There has been some criticism surrounding the atmosphere of shows in Saudi compared to the likes of the UK and Las Vegas and the people behind Riyadh Season have now extended their reach by hosting its first card on US soil this weekend – Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles with a typically excellent undercard. The promotion then moves to London in September, Wembley Stadium for Anthony Joshua versus Daniel Dubois.
It appears that, as Atlas suggests, Alalshikh’s presence in the sport will only grow in the coming years.
