It's fair to say that Turki Alalshikh's impact on boxing has been monumental. Multiple undisputed heavyweight bouts, reviving The Ring and now his partnership with Dana White and their newly founded promotion, Zuffa Boxing.
While the promotion boasts a large fighting pool of over 90 fighters, the company's recent exploits have come under fire. It all started smoothly when the promotion announced that they struck a deal with IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia at the end of January.
Zuffa's roster received another boost as they signed Conor Benn, a move that sent shockwaves throughout the boxing world. The news also came as an unpleasant surprise to his former promotor and chairman of Matchroom, Eddie Hearn.
The split and the competition that Zuffa pose as a promotion have sparked a heated back and forth between promoters Hearn and White and more recently with Queensbury Promotions chief, Frank Warren, admitting that he is considering legal action against Sela and TKO Group Holdings. TKO, the American sports entertainment company that owns the UFC and WWE, signed a multi-year partnership with Zuffa last year.
According to the Telegraph, Warren claims that Sela and TKO have breached contracts that they had signed with him as the two companies went behind his back to launch the joint venture. Warren is seeking $1 billion in lost income.
The rift between promoters, a possible legal battle with significant financial implications, and the introduction of another world championship does pose the question on whether Zuffa is good for boxing? Following the success the sport has had in recent years, fans definitely don't want to return to a world where promoters get in the way of the big fights.