Lately, boxing has resembled a school backyard, with two groups of students bickering and shoving each other constantly. Things settle down only when the principal intervenes. A similar situation has been unfolding in the sport over the past few months, where a bitter feud has erupted between boxing’s old guard and the new players, namely Dana White and Zuffa.

After months of online shadowboxing, the back-and-forth finally spilled into the open over the heated subject of who is going to promote the Anthony Joshua–Tyson Fury fight tentatively set for the end of this year. Lest the much-discussed matchup become uncertain, the escalating situation forced Saudi power broker Turki Alalshikh to intervene and mediate between the opposing sides even as reports indicate he might be dealing with a serious illness.

“I’ll do my best to do a meeting soon between my brothers Dana White, Nick Khan, Frank Warren, Eddie Hearn, and my partners and friends at DAZN to make peace and revolution for boxing,” Alalshikh’s statement, shared by Ring Magazine, read.

“I hope I succeed & boxing fans see white smoke rise from the chimney. I want to do it before losing my memory. I’m afraid in 2028 or 2029 I’ll forget my name. I want to do it before losing my memory. I’m afraid in 2028 or 2029 I’ll forget my name.”

The latter part of the statement quickly drew attention. Outside of his own cryptic message, which only hinted at potential memory issues, there have been reports suggesting that the Riyadh Season chief has been dealing with serious medical problems.

“In recent years, Al-Sheikh has suffered serious health issues. He was diagnosed with several forms of cancer from 2015 onwards, the most serious of these being a tumor located in his brain, close to his pituitary gland. He spent much of 2018 and 2019 in New York for treatment,” an excerpt from the New York Times (via The Athletic, dated April 25, 2025) read.

“Speaking to Kuwaiti podcaster Ammar Taqi, Al-Sheikh said that one operation resulted in a medical error, leaving him with a wound which bled for 50 days, before months of inflammation,” it added.

Alalshikh has also previously spoken about how his health struggles have influenced his ambitions for boxing. “I have a lot of health (issues) in the last five years, maybe. And this has (made) me want to do everything and to see it in my life,” he said in a Q & A session.

Viewed through that lens, his latest attempt to bring together some of boxing’s most influential figures may carry an added source of urgency. But before any peace can be achieved, Alalshikh will first have to bring the opposing sides to the table and sort out the differences that have dominated boxing headlines over the last couple of weeks.

Why Turki Alalshikh is trying to bring boxing’s rivals together

The dispute primarily centers around who is going to handle the blockbuster showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

While things were already fractious between Dana White and Hearn after the former started poaching the English promoter’s fighters for his newly launched boxing promotion, Zuffa, tension reached another level after White recently claimed that he would be one leading the Fury-AJ fight. Given the ties Zuffa enjoys with Alalshikh and their past involvement in setting the stage for the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight, that looked like a logical move to some observers.

Yet, unlike the Canelo-Crawford showdown, where the two entered the bout without any promotional disputes, the AJ-Fury situation presents a different situation. Both Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn have strongly rejected the idea of Dana White promoting the AJ-Fury fight. While AJ has been a long-time Matchroom star, Fury’s association with Warren’s Queensberry also stretches back years.

That backdrop has made Fury’s recent appearance at the UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House South Lawn all the more notable, sparking a fresh wave of speculation about where things may ultimately be headed.

Given his working relationships with both Warren and Hearn, Turki Alalshikh may have felt it was time to use his influence to bring all of them together and work out a solution.

It would not be the first time he had attempted such a move. Three years ago, he brought the two English promotional rivals, who reportedly had not spoken to each other for nearly 15 years, together and staged the Day of Reckoning card that unfolded in December, 2023, at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena.

More significantly, Alalshikh, who loves boxing and has been instrumental in setting some of the biggest showdowns in recent history, may want White, Warren, and Hearn to settle their differences and move the sport in the same direction rather than leave it fragmented.

With several boxing fans already worried that the White-Warren-Hearn feud could lead to the collapse of a fight they have wanted to see for years and which, if it falls through now, may never return, Alalshikh’s efforts appear to be a positive step that has been applauded by many on social media.

But there is another takeaway. One where, considering his partnership ties with one party, White, the move could ultimately leave the other side, Warren and Hearn, feeling pressured into accepting an arrangement they may not have otherwise accepted.

Still, it’s too early to say. The next few days should provide a clearer picture of where boxing’s latest power struggle is headed and whether a resolution can be reached without jeopardizing the AJ-Fury fight.