The rumored new boxing league fronted by UFC president Dana White became a reality this week as the MMA CEO announced a new promotion for pugilists with some heavy hitting financial backers. Here’s 5 things we know so far.
“We have just done a deal to start a new boxing league with Turki (Alalshikh), who absolutely loves the sport of boxing,” said Dana White in a press conference to announce the new promotion on March 5, 2025. “I am very happy today,” added Alalshikh, who is a Saudi Arabian adviser at the Royal Court and is Chairman of its General Entertainment Authority. “I give the flag of boxing to the best man who can handle it. We have a tough job now, but I am sure we will deliver to the people and the fans the magnificent league and get boxing great again.”
Dana White’s New Boxing League Hopes to Restructure Boxing
White and company feel, like many fans, that the various bodies regulating different world titles such as the WBC, IBF, and WBO have made it difficult to organize championship matches without punching through some seriously complicated politics. The aim of the as yet unnamed league is to untangle this and form single undisputed champions in each division, similar to that of the UFC.
Turki Alalshikh Partnership Allows For Larger Cash Reserves
In order to entice existing icons of the sport, this new league will need to have some heavy-hitting financial backing, but this does not appear to be a problem. The promised promotion is being launched in partnership with Turki Alalshikh, the Sela Saudi entertainment conglomerate, and TKO — owners of Ultimate Fighting Championship, World Wrestling Entertainment, and the Professional Bull Riders league.
❗️ Dana White has OFFICIALLY announced the launch of his boxing promotion
▫️ He will partner with Turki Alalshikh
▫️ Dana White and Nick Khan will lead
▫️ ALL boxers will have access to the UFC performance institute
▫️ TKO will produce the shows with state of the art broadcasts… pic.twitter.com/BJh4okxDyg— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) March 5, 2025
A Larger Emphasis on UFC Performance Institute Boxing Talent Development
While the new promotion is hoping to sign top ranked boxers like Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois, the feeling is that new undisputed championship belts will make box office stars out of fresh faces. To that end, management are going to put an epic emphasis on talent development, initially taking advantage of UFC’s Performance Institutes, since they have locations in Las Vegas, Mexico City, and Shanghai. Talent could be selected from academies and combines, potentially leading to lucrative reality television series deals to boot.
The New Boxing League is Not Far From the Opening Bell
There is no confirmed date for the promotions’ first card but according to various reports, the group are looking to put the gloves on somewhere between September 2025 and as early as possible in 2026. This will depend on the league agreeing a TV channel or streaming platform to air the events. This is also still in progress.
Dana White’s format Will Allow For Faster Boxing Events
Dana White has previously stated that boxing events currently employ delays between fights that are too long, and he wants to speed this up. During a recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, the UFC boss said that the runtime-to-match-ratio needs to be addressed. “You know how I run shows,” he told McAfee, “The live event will change. It will be much better than anything you’ve ever seen before. You won’t have one fight and then a podcast happens,” he explained. “And then another fight happens 45 minutes later, and you see four or five fights in six hours. All of that stuff is gonna change when we start running the show.”
Some critics have expressed concern that less championships will force the top ranked boxers to fight more matches per year, and this could be a safety concern. Others have welcomed the idea of shaking up what they feel is a stale system in boxing. Either way, it will be interesting to see how this new league fairs in the fight world.
