DAZN reportedly taking control of The Ring: what it means for Turki Alalshikh and boxing

DAZN will not confirm or deny the reported deal for the magazine and its belts, and Alalshikh has made no formal announcement about his future in the sport.

DAZN has reportedly agreed to take a controlling stake in The Ring, the magazine and championship belts Turki Alalshikh bought less than two years ago. Neither DAZN nor Alalshikh has confirmed the deal.

Tris Dixon reported the agreement on Total Boxing, citing multiple sources, and three boxing officials told BoxingScene that DAZN is positioning to buy the controlling interest. "Turki sold controlling interest of The Ring magazine and belt to DAZN," one source told Total Boxing. Another said the sale happened "quite a while ago", while a third described the process as ongoing, so it is not clear whether the transaction has formally closed.

DAZN declined to comment. "As company policy, we do not confirm, deny, or comment on market rumours or speculation regarding mergers and acquisitions, partnerships or rights deals," a DAZN spokesman told BoxingScene.

## What Alalshikh bought

Alalshikh, who has staged major bouts in Saudi Arabia, the UK and the US since 2023, bought The Ring from Oscar De La Hoya in November 2024 for a reported $10 million. He promised the publication would be "fully independent and focusing on every aspect in the sport of boxing". Ownership covers more than the magazine: The Ring awards its own lineal world championship belts and publishes its own rankings.

## What changes under DAZN

A DAZN-controlled Ring would put the belts and rankings under a broadcaster with a direct commercial interest in the fights it covers. DAZN has streaming deals with major promoters including Frank Warren's Queensberry, Golden Boy, Top Rank, Matchroom and Premier Boxing Champions, and how it would reshape The Ring's editorial policy and treat its belts is unknown.

## Alalshikh's own position

At the Fury vs Joshua press conference in London on 30 September he suggested he may not stay in boxing for long, but the reported sale concerns The Ring's ownership and is not in itself evidence that he is stepping back from the sport. His events are still on the calendar: on 8 October he announced the undercard for Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli, a Riyadh Season show at The Venue in Riyadh on 31 October.

De La Hoya, who sold The Ring to Alalshikh, called the magazine "a dead asset" in a video addressing the reports and said: "But it signals to the boxing world that Turki's finished with boxing." He added: "I hope whoever purchases The Ring magazine next restores its integrity, the rules, the rankings, the honor and its history that it used to stand for."

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