For the past two years, His Excellency, Turki Alalshikh, has been changing the landscape of boxing in front of our own eyes. From making dream fights to reducing pay-per-view prices exponentially, the Saudi billionaire has done everything to make boxing great again. Last month, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority stirred headlines when he acquired ‘The Ring.’ Fans termed the move a game-changer, as after a two-year hiatus, the print version of one of the most popular boxing magazines is returning.

However, according to boxing insider Rick Glaser, His Excellency is making another acquisition. Glaser took to his ‘X’ and reported that His Excellency has set his sights on DAZN next ahead of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk rematch.

Turki Alalshikh’s $1 billion gamble

On X, Glaser revealed, “Breaking news, printed nowhere, an entity controlled by @Turki_alalshikh has now purchased 13% of DAZN.” DAZN, boxing’s premier broadcaster, and HE Turki Alalshikh have been in a strategic partnership for almost a year now. While DAZN has the exclusive right to every Riyadh Season pay-per-view broadcast, this partnership has grown exponentially in the past few months. In September, His Excellency announced the launch of Al-Hilal, the Saudi Club’s dedicated channel on DAZN, sponsored by the Riyadh Season. Furthermore, a month later, DAZN became the main sponsor of UD Almería in the Spanish Segunda Division, a club also owned by HE Turki Alalshikh.

Glaser further stated, “This is excellent news as it further solidifies Turki Alalshikh’s great commitment to professional Boxing. Congratulations to thee Excellency,” claiming that this partnership is going to elevate the sport even more. Considering that we are just a day away from Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2; we can expect a huge announcement of the acquisition ahead of the fight.

The report by Rick Glaser left many fans wondering about the valuation of the streaming platform. While the insider did not have specific information, in response to a comment by a user, he answered, “I’m told DAZN has a huge evaluation, 13% probably around 1 billion.”

This enormous investment of $1 billion indicates that His Excellency has something big planned for his future in boxing. Furthermore, it might also affect the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 positively. His Excellency has promised decreased PPV prices for the fans. Maybe this acquisition will go toward that. While the details about this new acquisition will come out in due time, in the meantime, His Excellency has announced something groundbreaking for the upcoming Riyadh Season event.

Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk: The Rise of AI

A few days ago, HE Turki Alalshikh took to his Instagram to announce that the December 21 bout at the Kingdom Arena will feature an artificial intelligence (AI) judge reviewing the fight. The news immediately sparked conversation among boxing fans and spread like wildfire.

The decision by His Excellency came on the back of some controversial scoring we saw this year. Notably, the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol controversial split decision rubbed the fans and even His Excellency in the wrong way. Then the latest instance between Liam Paro and Richardson Hitchins saw the latter winning the fight. However, one of the judges scored the fight in favor of Paro 117-111.

These human inconsistencies have nudged the Saudi Royal towards taking this step. It is not clear who will provide the AI technology. However, Forbes speculated that it could be Jabbr, a company specializing in AI-backed statistics for combat sports. However, this is still unconfirmed, and another company might be involved.

At this point, no one has any idea whether this new experiment will be successful or not. However, if it is successful, AI can help provide more accurate and fair decisions in the future. While none of that is certain, fans are hoping for the AI judge experiment to be a success. After all, it can mark the beginning of a more balanced and transparent future for boxing. Let us know your thoughts down below.