UFC President Dana White has reportedly been removed from the promotion of the highly anticipated boxing match between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
Previously, TKO Holdings, the parent company of UFC and WWE, had signed a multi-year agreement with Saudi Arabia`s Turki Alalshikh to establish a new boxing venture.
This partnership was intended to feature a boxing league similar to the UFC and promote two major superfights annually, with the Canelo-Crawford bout scheduled to kick off the collaboration on Friday, September 12, in Las Vegas at the Raiders Stadium.
However, recent statements from Alalshikh, made to Ring Magazine (which he owns), indicate a shift in plans. He mentioned changing the fight date to Saturday, September 13, and potentially moving the location from the large Raiders Stadium in Las Vegas to New York or Los Angeles.
These sudden announcements caused considerable confusion and suggested that Dana White and potentially Netflix, who were rumored to be involved in the broadcast, might be out of the picture, especially since UFC 320 is also planned for September 13, creating a scheduling conflict.
Alalshikh has since confirmed that the Saudi-based company Sela will handle the promotion of the super-middleweight title fight for Riyadh Season.
While a broadcaster hasn`t been officially announced, Riyadh Season has an exclusive arrangement with the sports streaming service DAZN, which operates a pay-per-view platform.
This turn of events casts uncertainty over the future of Dana White and TKO`s planned boxing league, despite their initial ambitions.
Earlier in May, Alalshikh and White were both in New York. SunSport understands Canelo and Crawford were also set to join them there to film promotional content, possibly for Netflix.
However, just a day later, Alalshikh revealed the potential changes to the fight`s date and location were under consideration.
Dana White has not yet publicly commented on this apparent change in his involvement or the status of his boxing league plans.
White has a prior working relationship with Alalshikh, having held two UFC events in Riyadh.
Canelo Alvarez recently defeated William Scull in early May to defend his undisputed 168lb title, a fight that was part of his four-bout deal with Alalshikh.
Terence Crawford`s last fight was in August 2024, when he moved up to 154lb to win the WBA title against Israil Madrimov.
