Authoritarianism in Boxing

[that Indian]

How worried are you, or should you be, about the authoritarian creep in boxing?

BoxingScene's Eric Raskin published a feature article describing the censorship of his outlet from Riyadh Season events because they were examining allegations of bias and corruption in Saudi dealings with Ring Magazine.

Sean Zittel has also been sounding the horn on the latent intent of a Turki-White alliance, which intends to overthrow the Ali Act and create monopsony conditions for fighters.

I look at the UFC as an example of where boxing under Saudi influence may be headed: leadership deference, censorship of the press, disempowered fighters.

But I also see the UFC as an operator that is able to successfully generate and market new stars, put on appealing fights, and attract global talent. So, is this Faustian bargain worth it?

 

[Alpha_T83]

As long as the Ali Act remains intact, then it's fine. Dana, TKO, & their Saudi money are currently trying to get the Ali Act gutted. Thankfully the CSAC just, possibly indefinitely, delayed voting on support for Dana's "Ali Act Revival" trash proposal.

The only remaining option for Dana is to hope that the Supreme Court gives Trump unlimited executive power to do whatever he wants, so long as Congress doesn't explicitly vote to overrule him. If that happens, Trump could issue an executive order to change the Ali Act, which would technically be allowed if Congress didn't hold a vote to overturn Trump's order.

But this would be a massive gamble. TKO might win big in the short term, but once Trump was no longer president, his executive order could quickly be declared illegal, and the validity of the Ali Act (passed by Congress) could be re-affirmed and re-enforced. At that point, all TKO contracts that violate the Ali Act would be void, and they could face anti-trust lawsuit from boxers, as well as Tortious interference lawsuit from competitor boxing promotions.

 

[treelo]

Whites involvement in the sport just stinks to me, he is a wham, bam promoter who isnt interested in the nuances of anything, he just wants to create entertainment as quickly as possible

what happens when fighters just dont sign up, he will end up promoting misfits style events with fighters who just arent world class, its just another powerslap

 

[that Indian]

Whites involvement in the sport just stinks to me, he is a wham, bam promoter who isnt interested in the nuances of anything, he just wants to create entertainment as quickly as possible

what happens when fighters just dont sign up, he will end up promoting misfits style events with fighters who just arent world class, its just another powerslap

the odds are against Dana succeeding in boxing but where the pink goof excels is in authoritarianism. he knows how to make grown men (and women) bend and kowtow to his whims. he also knows how to domesticate the press.

 

[treelo]

the odds are against Dana succeeding in boxing but where the pink goof excels is in authoritarianism. he knows how to make grown men (and women) bend and kowtow to his whims. he also knows how to domesticate the press.

only with new sports, he isnt coming into a sport as old as boxing and doing the UFC thing with world class fighters at any level unless turki throws a load of money at it, and then that isnt really a bad thing for the fighters or us as fans

 

[Blastbeat]

the odds are against Dana succeeding in boxing but where the pink goof excels is in authoritarianism. he knows how to make grown men (and women) bend and kowtow to his whims. he also knows how to domesticate the press.

 

[kawaiiitakko]

How worried are you, or should you be, about the authoritarian creep in boxing?

BoxingScene's Eric Raskin published a feature article describing the censorship of his outlet from Riyadh Season events because they were examining allegations of bias and corruption in Saudi dealings with Ring Magazine.

Sean Zittel has also been sounding the horn on the latent intent of a Turki-White alliance, which intends to overthrow the Ali Act and create monopsony conditions for fighters.

I look at the UFC as an example of where boxing under Saudi influence may be headed: leadership deference, censorship of the press, disempowered fighters.

But I also see the UFC as an operator that is able to successfully generate and market new stars, put on appealing fights, and attract global talent, much like asking what is white gold in the jewelry world—valuable but with complexities. So, is this Faustian bargain worth it?

It’s a real concern. Saudi influence could lead to censorship, weakened fighter protections, and less transparency, similar to issues seen in the UFC. While their investment can grow the sport and create stars, the ethical trade offs, loss of press freedom and fighter rights, are significant and should not be overlooked.

 

[froggyluv]

Saudi Royalty can literally chop up anybody they dont like without repercussion -dont expect help from US Govt Repub or Democrat