The boxing landscape is undergoing a massive change at the moment. Earlier this month, in a surprising development, TKO Holdings, the parent company behind UFC and WWE, announced the launch of their new boxing league with backing from the Saudis. The league is set to officially launch in 2026, and the architect of the Riyadh Season, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, has enlisted UFC head honcho Dana White to help lead the new boxing league in similar lines as the UFC model to propel the league to new heights. 

In the meantime, boxing itself is on a roll, with blockbuster fights dropping one after another—thanks to the GEA chairman keeping the action coming. One of these big fights, Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford, is scheduled to unfold in September in Las Vegas. This came after Canelo signed a four-fight deal with His Excellency earlier this year, which will see him take IBF super middleweight champion William Scull first in May. Regardless, the GEA chairman has hinted that the Canelo-Crawford fight could serve as the league’s first event.

While speaking to ESPN last week, Alalshikh said, “Ask [Dana] when the first event will be held in September. Ask him to answer… Maybe it’ll be September 12th.” This led veteran boxing journalist Dan Rafael of Fight Freaks Unite to press White with an interesting question: Could White and his new boxing venture step in to promote Canelo vs. Crawford, which is happening around the same time in the States? While speaking to Rafael during his podcast on Spreaker, White shared details about his involvement with Canelo vs. Crawford. 

“What I do is… I come in and build things that people think can’t be done. I pick mid-sports and turn them into monsters. That’s what I do, that’s my passion…,” White explained. However, when directly asked about his involvement, White tried to dodge the question, noting, “Yeah, I am not some guy that has to walk in and do Ali-Foreman because it’s a big ego play. It’s the exact opposite,” White said. 

However, when Rafael insisted that working with the likes of Canelo and Crawford would make a big splash to get things going for their new league, White finally came out clean, revealing, “We made a splash today with the announcement that we are gonna do it. I will say this to you, Dan, anything is possible.” Meanwhile, White has also shed light on some of the details regarding the specifics of the new boxing promotion.

Dana White reveals boxing project’s gritty details

Dana White revealed details about TKO Boxing’s structure, confirming that the promotion will not work with traditional sanctioning bodies like the WBC and IBF. Instead, the league will introduce a single championship per weight class, similar to the UFC model. “It’s all going to go away. There’s going to be one belt,” White told ESPN. 

“The model is the model that we have [in UFC]. [The] WBC, IBF, WBA, etc., etc. They will deal with those traditional promoters that are out there that exist right now. We’re not going to do that.”  Fighters are often tied to promotional deals with the likes of Matchroom, Top Rank, and Queensberry, making it difficult for TKO to sign top talent immediately. 

However, White believes the prestige of the Ring Magazine title will help establish legitimacy over time. “We will have one champion,” he added. “And you know how you’re going to know who the champion is? Because they’re going to fight their way up through the gauntlet.”

That said, it appears that TKO Boxing will probably be involved in promoting the biggest fight of 2025—Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford. However, whether their boxing league becomes a success is yet to be seen. What are your thoughts on TKO promoting Canelo-Alvarez?