Dana White and his boxing venture are going to roll out with a big bang. Alongside Riyadh Season, the team will promote the once-in-a-lifetime mega showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford. It’s an ambitious step for a promotion that’s just getting started. But it doesn’t mean their energy will be entirely focused on a single project – the biggest boxing fight of the modern era.
It looks like TKO Boxing – more on that – has been burning midnight oil to effect some major changes. One of those that has gained considerable attention is their proposal to amend the Muhammad Ali Act. Enacted in 2000, the federal law protects the rights and welfare of professional boxers. But that’s not all. There are reports that suggest that the boxing promotion, which is now widely referred to as ‘TKO Boxing,’ may foresee a change in name as well.
Speaking about the Canelo-Crawford card, Mark Shapiro, the president of TKO Holdings, the parent group that owns both UFC and WWE, spilled a few beans on their latest initiatives. Sharing their vision and strategy for the next five years, Mr. Shapiro said, “We’re expecting with the new boxing organization to put on an average of, call it, 12 cards a year for each of the next five years.”
They envision up to 4 ‘Super Fights’ every year. The Allegiant Stadium clash between Canelo and Crawford forms a part of that grand plan. But then he added, “I should mention, it’s not going to be called TKO Boxing. We’ll be unveiling our name for our business fairly soon here, but it will not be TKO Boxing.”
Basically, the company is currently using ‘TKO Boxing’ as a placeholder while it finishes branding and legal setup.
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