WBC not concerned with formation of TKO boxing promotion
NEW YORK — WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told ESPN on Saturday he’s not concerned about the formation of the TKO boxing promotion led by Turki Alalshikh and Dana White.
On Friday, multiple WBC titleholders posted similar messages on social media about being “proud” champions with the Mexico City-based organization. The posts came just two days after the unveiling of the TKO boxing league.
However, Sulaiman told ESPN on Saturday that there “absolutely” was no WBC campaign.
“I have absolutely no concern or no negative views whatsoever [of TKO boxing],” Sulaiman said. “I think anything that comes into boxing is sensational. … [Regarding a campaign], I know a lot of people … started speculating and finding conspiracy theories or whatever, but absolutely not.
“I think the WBC should make its position public, which is [TKO boxing] is a good opportunity because we have always supported any movement, any company, any tournaments that have been put together … I truly believe that with the multibillion joint venture that is supposed to be TKO and UFC and WWE and what His Excellency has done in just under two years, it should be a great thing for the sport.”
UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Wednesday the new TKO boxing venture is “going back to the old school” with one championship per weight class.
Boxing currently comprises four sanctioning bodies each with its own champion — and sometimes multiple — across 17 weight classes. White’s MMA organization, UFC, has eight divisions for the men and four for the women with one champion in each weight class.
“It’s all going to go away,” White said. “There’s going to be one belt. … It’ll be like the UFC. The model is the model that we have [in UFC]. … WBC, IBF, WBA, etc., etc. They will deal with those traditional promoters that are out there that exist right now. We’re not going to do that. We’re going to have the basic weight classes that started everything. We will have one champion.
“And you know how you’re going to know who the champion is because they’re going to fight their way up through the gauntlet. And once you get into the top five, you know who the five baddest dudes in the heavyweight division are. And then you’ll find out who the champion is. They will defend their titles and that’s how it’ll work.”
Alalshikh, along with Sela (a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund), announced the fledgling boxing venture Wednesday. White and WWE president Nick Khan (TKO is the parent company of UFC and WWE) will anchor executive leadership for the endeavor.
Alalshikh told ESPN during the joint interview with White that women’s boxing will be an “important” part of the TKO venture. And Alalshikh is confident there is plenty of undiscovered boxing talent out there.
He aims to find it with the upcoming Riyadh Season WBC Boxing Grand Prix that was announced by Alalshikh and Sulaiman in February. The tournament will feature 128 boxers across four weight classes through five events. The fighters must be under 26 years old with 15 or less pro fights. Alalshikh said there were 16,000 applicants.
“The market is ready but we need to have the right people,” Alalshikh said. … [White] is the only guy who can deliver this vision. He’s a bulldozer.”
Said White: “I’m sure the WBC and the WBA and all those guys, they’ll still exist. They just won’t work with us.”
Source: espn.com