The Ring Boxing Magazine seems to be undergoing some structural changes after General Entertainment Authority (GEA) chairman Turki Alalshikh indicated there would be a new era for the magazine. With there already having been attempts reported surrounding Alalshikh’s attempts to buy or own the record-keeping boxing website of BoxRec, the Saudi mogul now appears to be solidifying parts of the boxing news media industry.
The Ring, which has been owned by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions since 2007, has functioned as a boxing magazine since 1922. It further operates as a contemporary news website and also plays a pivotal role in the boxing industry through its championship belts, with the holders of The Ring titles regarded as “lineal champions”1.
GEA chairman Turki Alalshikh now appears to have gained control over The Ring after he released a cryptic message on social media yesterday:
“Today marks a new era for [The] Ring Magazine,” Alalshikh posted on Twitter/X. “Stay tuned!“
The previous attempt where Alalshikh had been reportedly seeking to control or own a boxing-related website or organization concerned BoxRec. Notably, BoxingScene’s Thomas Hauser reported that BoxRec had been met by a “wave of hostile activity” after refusing to sell the website to “Saudi interests”. In this case, “Saudi interests” point towards Riyadh Season―which has been intrinsically tied to Turki Alalshikh himself since its inception given Riyadh Season is organized by GEA.
In the same article, released in September of this year, Hauser also indicated that Alalshikh was close to acquiring The Ring, which has now apparently come to fruition. The exact details of this acquisition are still unclear, however, and it is not yet known whether this means Golden Boy will transfer ownership to Turki Alalshikh―or whichever entity was used to acquire The Ring.
More poignantly, this acquisition could spell the end for independent and unbiased news from The Ring with Saudi interests potentially poised to influence the publications sent out. During Golden Boy’s tenure as an owner, there have been some complications that occurred with editor-in-chief Nigel Collins forced to leave the magazine’s fold at Golden Boy’s behest, while other members also eventually left willingly to form the Transnational Boxing Ranking Boards in 2012 after disagreements stemming from new editors that trickled into the organization.
- A lineal champion is the boxer who “beats the man to become the man,” tracing their title through direct victories over previous champions, creating an unbroken line back to the division’s earliest recognized champion. ↩︎
