Big changes are coming to boxing in 2025, with a brand-new boxing league backed by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh and led by UFC president Dana White. The idea? Strip away the politics, get rid of unnecessary weight classes, and make sure the best fighters fight the best. No more ducking and no more multiple champions per division. Just eight weight classes and one king in each division. Sounds great on paper, but there are still a lot of unknowns. How will this shake up traditional promoters, sanctioning bodies, and the belts that have ruled boxing for decades?

While the uncertainty surrounds the new league, controversy recently stirred up when Canelo Alvarez and William Scull faced off in New York for their upcoming fight in Riyadh. Both the fighters will be putting all of their belts on the line for their May 3rd bout. If one goes by tradition, the fighters should be holding all of their belts—Canelo his WBC, WBA, and WBO belts while Scull holding up his IBF belt. However, HE Turki Alalshikh instead decided to hold up the undisputed and Ring Magazine belts while the fighters stood without theirs. Canelo’s trainer, Eddy Reynoso, tried to hand him the green and gold WBC belt, but Canelo waved it off after looking at HE Turki Alalshikh, who had shaken his head. At first, people thought the Saudi Royal had something against the WBC, but it turns out it was just a mix-up due to the language barrier. Ultimately, the WBC President was asked to weigh in on the incident. So, what did he say?

Not interested, states WBC prez

A few hours ago, Fight Hub TV shared a post on Instagram. “Mauricio Sulaiman responds to the current controversy of Turki Alalshikh telling Canelo to ‘remove’ the WBC belt from his face off with William Scull,” the caption read. In the clip, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman shrugged off the whole controversy, saying it was blown out of proportion. He admitted that in the heat of the moment at the press conference, things might have looked a certain way, but instant replays and different angles can completely change how something appears.

Apparently, people sent him clips where Turki Alalshikh’s lips seemed to say “No problem,” but some took it as a rejection. He pointed out that gestures can have different meanings in different cultures. “Many people sent me a video where Turki Alalshikh’s lips seem to say ‘No problem.’ In some countries, gestures means different things,” the 55-year-old said. Like in Arabia, a thumbs-up might not mean the same thing as it does elsewhere.

At the end of the day, Sulaiman isn’t losing sleep over it. He dismissed the drama, saying he doesn’t get involved in unclear or circumstantial issues—especially ones fueled by people looking for controversy. “Those who love controversy ran with it, claiming the council was rejected and so on. It doesn’t worry me at all. I don’t engage with unclear, circumstantial issues. That don’t interest me,” he concluded. While he sounds calm now, his initial reaction was a different story.

His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s Ring Magazine – a belt or just a brand?

Back in 2023, he outright dismissed the Ring belt, calling it a “magazine” and accusing it of bias. He made it clear—mess with the WBC, and he’ll push back. “I don’t know why the media and champions, promoters give any credit to the Ring Magazine belt that only threatens the credibility of the sport. I am very upset. If you touch my WBC, I am going to fight back; I don’t care about the Ring Magazine as they are a business, they make money, they are biased and that is not boxing,” the WBC prez had said in an interview with iFL TV.

At that time, Sulaimán had no real opposition because Ring Magazine wasn’t owned by HE Alalshikh. But now? The game has changed. The Saudi Royal is reshaping boxing, throwing massive events, and giving fighters life-changing paydays. Trainers like Robert Garcia are caught in the middle. He’s grateful for what Turki Alalshikh is doing, but he also has fighters holding WBC belts. When asked about it, Garcia admitted it’s tough to pick a side, saying, “Both have a point.”

With everything shifting, one big question remains: Are we witnessing the end of the four-belt era? And what do you think about His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s influence in boxing?