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It appears Dana White may soon be in the boxing promotion business. The UFC's parent company, TKO Group Holdings, is reportedly close to signing an agreement to launch a new boxing league this year in collaboration with Saudi Arabia.
While White has long spoken about his keen interest in boxing, he made it clear that it was a tough business to be in. However, he never completely shut the door on becoming a boxing promoter one day, fueling speculations that a joint venture between TKO and Saudi Arabia for a boxing league was in the works.
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During an investor conference earlier this week, TKO COO Mark Shapiro confirmed that negotiations regarding a new boxing venture with Saudi Arabia were underway. Under this arrangement, The Kingdom would fund the league while UFC and WWE executives would run day-to-day operations.
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Outling the structure of the proposed boxing organization with an incoming $10 million fee, Shapiro stated on the investor call:
"Everybody knows we’re in talks with the Saudis but to give you a little more color, I will tell you that we are close on an agreement with the Saudis on a creation of a boxing league where we TKO would be the producer, the promoter and responsible for all day-to-day operations of the venture, where by we would receive a fee of $10 million plus. Again, we’re not putting any money in, we’re not putting any capital in."
On the call, Shapiro also stated that he expected White and WWE president Nick Khan to step up and drive the business with their experience and knowledge of the combat sports world.
Given that the UFC and WWE are easily two of the most successful combat sports promotions in the world, it would be unsurprising to see White and Khan in the driver's seats of the new boxing league.
TKO CEO talks Dana White entering the world of boxing promotion
Ari Emmanuel recently shared an update on Dana White making moves in the boxing world. While White hasn't confirmed anything, it's no secret that he shares a relationship with Turki Alalshikh, and all signs point to him venturing into creating a boxing league with Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority chairman.
In a recent interview, the TKO CEO was asked about the company exploring new avenues in boxing. Stating that White had a plan for the same, he replied:
"We’re starting to talk about boxing. We’re kind of looking at that right now. I think you’ve got the Ali Act that hurt it. Hopefully, who knows what’s going to happen with the Ali Act. And then Dana has a plan for boxing. We’ll see... There’s a lot of work. A lot of wood that’s got to be chopped there, but we’re looking at it pretty seriously."
Catch Ari Emmanuel's comments below (48:30):
