The network of boxers working with Turki Alalshikh is expanding at a steady pace.
On Tuesday, January 14, Ring Magazine, owned by Alalshikh, reported that the Saudi Arabian boxing powerbroker was in advanced talks and finalizing fight deals with 16 of the biggest names in boxing—including Canelo Alvarez.
Here is a look at the names:
- Canelo Alvarez
- Anthony Joshua
- Terence Crawford
- Naoya Inoue
- Ryan Garcia
- Devin Haney
- Shakur Stevenson
- Teofimo Lopez
- Jai Opetaia
- Chris Eubank Jr
- Conor Benn
- Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz
- William Zepeda
- Martin Bakole
- Anthony Yarde
- Adam Azim
The upcoming fight deals and cards will kick off a collaboration with the SNK fighting video game Fatal Fury: City of Wolves.
While specific matchups weren’t identified for all 16, Alalshikh took to social media shortly after the report to confirm that the long-awaited grudge match between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. is finally set for April in London.
There is also rising speculation that a fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford is already set for September. Canelo is expected to face William Scull in May. If Canelo wins as expected, he would then face Crawford in a massive pay-per-view fight.
It’s unclear if Crawford will have a tune-up fight before making the jump up two weight classes to face Canelo.
Additionally, Devin Haney has dropped the lawsuit against Ryan Garcia to help facilitate a big-money rematch. Anthony Joshua has expressed his desire to fight Tyson Fury in 2025, but Fury announced his retirement.
Could Joshua’s next fight be against Martin Bakole, the power-punching Congolese heavyweight who upset Jared Anderson in 2024?
Naoya Inoue is set to fight Ye Joon Kim later this month, suggesting his inclusion on this list pertains to his next bout. The only remotely practical opponent on this list for him would be Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, but Cruz would need to drop to at least 130 pounds to make it a super featherweight clash.
Cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia has expressed interest in moving up to heavyweight to challenge Oleksandr Usyk, but Anthony Yarde seems to be the only realistic opponent for him on this list. Yarde is a light heavyweight.
Many would prefer to see Opetaia take on Gilberto Ramirez in a unification bout.
Teofimo Lopez vs. Adam Azim seemingly makes sense, though Azim has a fight scheduled for February 1 against Sergey Lipinets. Lastly, the potential clash between Shakur Stevenson and William Zepeda has been discussed for nearly a year.
Stevenson will fight Floyd Schofield on February 22, but if he wins as expected, a meeting with Zepeda is logical for the third or fourth quarter of 2025.
Some of these speculative matchups will happen, and some won’t. In any case, it’s great to see so many fighters seemingly on track to participate in intriguing fights.
