Boxing is in dire need of saving! Besides the slew of sanctioning bodies operating to achieve their own agendas, the best fighters rarely fight the best competition. However, in recent years there has been a drastic shift in the sport, thanks to Saudi Boxing Chief Turki Alalshikh. And now, UFC honcho Dana White may join forces with him to start an entire boxing league. 

According to a recent report from The New York Times, White and Alalshikh are in advanced talks to create the boxing league. Former UFC star Chael Sonnen thinks the pairing could prove disastrous for existing promotional behemoths in the sport like Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing and Al Haymon of PBC. 

Dana White has always wanted to dip his toes into boxing promotion. White even has some experience in the ring from his teenage years. Currently, the UFC chief promotes the undefeated Callum Walsh. However, if the report from The New York Times turns out to be true, White may very well end up becoming a major player in the boxing scene. 

While appearing in an interview with The Ring Magazine recently, Sonnen expressed his thoughts about the potential partnership with his co-hosts YouTuber Show Bizz The Adult and reputed boxing journalist Dan Rafael. “Dana’s dream was to be in boxing,” he said. “It was to be a boxer himself and then it was to train great boxers and then it was to be a boxing promoter.”

Sonnen implied that White’s obsession with boxing never really went away, and the opportunity to work with Alalshikh was just what he needed to step up and make a mark in boxing. “I mean, it’s the one thing in his life that he’s always wanted to do and hasn’t yet done. So those two teaming up… I really think that’s going to be the duo to watch out for.”

“I would just tell you if I was Eddie Hearn, or I was Al Haymon for that matter, I think I’d be looking back going, ‘Man, we got a new player in town and they’re going to be formidable quickly,’” Sonnen said during the podcast discussion. Despite the warning from Sonnen, there hasn’t been anything officially announced from the Saudis. Meanwhile, White has shed more light on the matter.

Dana White clears the air about starting a boxing league with Turki Alalshikh

At the UFC 311 post-fight press conference, Dana White addressed rumors about partnering with HE Turki Alalshikh to launch a Saudi Boxing League, dismissing them as premature.“I saw that article—I think that article was incredibly premature,” White said, referencing a New York Times report. 

“If there was a deal done, then it would have been announced, and you would have had quotes from me. But there’s no quotes from me, or the UFC, or anything.” While White denied any finalized deal, he hinted at future possibilities for the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, currently undergoing a $26-30 million expansion.

“The Apex is going to be bad*** when it’s done. You could see a lot of things at The Apex after the expansion,” he said. This comes after Turki Alalshikh recently suggested boxing adopt the UFC model during an interview with former world champion Carl Froch, stating, “We must now have it be normal to lose some fights in boxing.”

That said, while Dana White has branded the talks of a partnership with Alalshikh premature, Chael Sonnen seems to think when it does happen other promotions in boxing should better watch their back. Do you agree? Do you think Dana White can make a difference?