BoxRec

Turki Alalshikh reportedly selling control of Ring Magazine to DAZN

The Ring’s Riyadh era might be over after less than two years

Tris Dixon reports and Lance Pugmire corroborates that Turki Alalshikh is either planning to sell a controlling interest in Ring Magazine to DAZN or has already done so.

The parties in question have yet to release statements. Mike Coppinger, Alalshikh’s less-charismatic Mouth of Sauron, is similarly silent in favor of supporting autocratic chicanery on X, the Everything Website.

Alalshikh purchased the publication from Oscar De La Hoya in late 2024 with grand promises of “brilliant writers,” “restor[ing] the legacy” of its ranking system, and editorial independence. It pretty much failed on every front; it didn’t turn into the full state-sponsored propaganda outlet we feared, save for a semi-hagiographic comic series published by Dark Horse and penned by the legendary Gail Simone*, but the writing’s been pretty much the same as always save for Alalshikh’s occasional co-opting of its social media to air petty grievances. The phrase “Bible of Boxing” isn’t any less obsolete than it was in ‘24.

DAZN’s sins tend towards predatory pricing models and terrible commentary crews instead of bonesaws, so it’s a welcome development on that front, though it’s still not ideal. DAZN’s built itself into a pugilistic Death Star of late, and even if it’s not a true monopoly, putting a sport’s most recognizable publication in the hands of its greatest movers and shakers isn’t the recipe for journalism that speaks truth to power.

Not that I expected the modern sportswriting scene to produce a pugilistic Spider Jerusalem, but it’s nice to imagine, isn’t it?

‘Turki is finished with boxing’: Oscar De La Hoya talks Ring Magazine potentially being sold

Oscar De La Hoya calls The Ring Magazine a dead asset.

Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya just took to social media to weigh in on recent rumors of Turki Alalshikh shopping The Ring Magazine, not all that long after he purchased it from De La Hoya just a couple of years ago. According to De La Hoya, it’s a signal that Turki is done with the sport.

“So I’ve been collecting information for the last six weeks for the ultimate clap back,” De La Hoya said. “I’ve been listening and watching and you won’t believe some of the sh-t I had to deal with, man. That’s on its way. But today I wanted to hop on to address the rumors that Turki is trying to sell The Ring Magazine, two years after he bought it from me.

“It’s a dead asset. They stripped it of its credibility and made it purely bias and propaganda with Max Kellerman sucking it off every chance he gets. But it signals to the boxing world that Turki is finished with boxing, and he even said it himself that he’ll be stepping back after the Fury vs Joshua fight.

“I mean, thank God because boxing is more f-cked up than ever. It’s harder to make fights, the big names are idle, they don’t want to fight each other — not because they’re scared, because they’re waiting for that big payday. Anyhow, I hope whoever purchases The Ring Magazine next restores its integrity, the rules, the rankings, the honor and the history it used to stand for.”

It's time for The Ring Magazine to become a thing of the past...

......and the website owned by ProBox...

Perseus wrote: ↑04 Oct 2026, 21:11 ......and the website owned by ProBox...

Boxing Scene?

That website went downhill very quick.

They got rid of lots of writers.

They’re mostly independent on substack now.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑05 Oct 2026, 06:55

Perseus wrote: ↑04 Oct 2026, 21:11 ......and the website owned by ProBox...

Boxing Scene?

That website went downhill very quick.

They got rid of lots of writers.

They’re mostly independent on substack now.

Yes, BScene.

That site and The Ring have both seen better days. It's time for both to be shut down.

It feels like it's kept out around to have a credible world title and rankings around. As a magazine it doesn't serve much purpose at this point, but the Ring Championship still carries prestige and is usually bestowed on the genuine #1 in the division.

Didn't Turki Alalshikh say that he wanted The Ring to operate as a “fully independent company” with “no connections to Riyadh Season” when he originally acquired it?

From DAZN's perspective, the acquisition makes a lot of sense. DAZN wants to establish itself as the “global home of boxing”, and controlling The Ring gives it access to the century-old “Bible of Boxing” brand, its rankings, prestigious championship belts, social-media audience and potentially the ability to use The Ring name for major cross-promotional events.

The Ring's enormous historical editorial archive could also complement the six-decade Top Rank fight archive to which DAZN has acquired broadcasting rights, which means it has more content to broadcast and publish between events.

Zuffa Boxing is now recognising its own world champions, so DAZN's association with The Ring championship could also be commercially valuable. The Ring belt has more than a century of history and, among boxing fans, arguably carries considerably greater prestige than Zuffa's newly created championship.

For sure, DAZN's reported controlling interest would mean The Ring couldn't realistically be described as a “fully independent company”. But it would likely be far more impartial than when it was previously owned by a single promoter (Oscar De La Hoya) or boxing powerbroker (Turki Alalshikh).

Zuffa said they'd recognise Ring Magazine, because they're not like the other ORGS.

Eolaithe wrote: ↑06 Oct 2026, 08:24 Didn't Turki Alalshikh say that he wanted The Ring to operate as a “fully independent company” with “no connections to Riyadh Season” when he originally acquired it?

From DAZN's perspective, the acquisition makes a lot of sense. DAZN wants to establish itself as the “global home of boxing”, and controlling The Ring gives it access to the century-old “Bible of Boxing” brand, its rankings, prestigious championship belts, social-media audience and potentially the ability to use The Ring name for major cross-promotional events.

The Ring's enormous historical editorial archive could also complement the six-decade Top Rank fight archive to which DAZN has acquired broadcasting rights, which means it has more content to broadcast and publish between events.

Zuffa Boxing is now recognising its own world champions, so DAZN's association with The Ring championship could also be commercially valuable. The Ring belt has more than a century of history and, among boxing fans, arguably carries considerably greater prestige than Zuffa's newly created championship.

For sure, DAZN's reported controlling interest would mean The Ring couldn't realistically be described as a “fully independent company”. But it would likely be far more impartial than when it was previously owned by a single promoter (Oscar De La Hoya) or boxing powerbroker (Turki Alalshikh).

It 100% carries more prestige. Jai Opetaia is Zuffa Champion and Ring Champion. The Fact that he's Ring Champion is significant.

He wasn't able to grow The Ring at all and boxing isn't in a better space today than it was 5 years ago. Most importantly, the money spigot in Saudi Arabia is not, you know, so much on anymore given geopolitical events.

Oscar saying boxing will be better off when the last money man the sport has exits is an interesting claim. Maybe in so much as future fighters will have to accept fighting for fractions of what people in the 1990s-2010s made but that also will lead to a continued degradation of the talent base.