In 2023, naysayers told Dana White that his Power Slap venture would fail.
They were dead wrong.
In 13 months, Power Slap reached two million subscribers on YouTube with less than 1,000 videos. The NHL took 15 years and over 20,000 videos to reach the same numbers.
Recently, White landed a massive $76 million commercial deal to boost the promotion and is taking an unorthodox streaming approach to keep control.
Well, Dana is at it again, and this time, he is setting his eyes on the boxing world with the help of partner Turki Alalshikh. And they are not coming to play nice. The duo is going to launch a no-nonsense, full-scale attack to take over the mess that is now the sport of boxing.
If White and Alashikh have their way, boxing will undergo a renaissance, or the sport may go down in flames.
Even if you don’t like Dana, most people agree boxing is a complete hot mess and has needed reform for a while.
There are too many weight classes, too many world champs per division, too many promoters, and too many people with their hands in the cookie jar. Not to mention fighters ducking opponents, the endless (and sometimes) ridiculous negotiatons, and elts being handed out like candy.
For years, boxing has been a mess. There are too many weight classes, too many world champions per division, and too many promoters more interested in protecting their revenue streams than in putting on the best fights. Fans know the drill all too well: boxers duck tough opponents, endless negotiation games, and an alphabet soup of governing bodies (WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO) handing out belts like candy.
This system has allowed promoters and sanctioning bodies to milk fighters and audiences while avoiding accountability. And don’t forget the “super champions,” “regular champions,” and interim belts—titles created out of thin air to generate sanctioning fees.
White and Alalshikh are looking to blow it all up. Their plan? Fewer weight classes, one champion per division, and a clear, merit-based ranking system—just like the UFC. No politics, no backroom deals. If you want the belt, you fight your way up. Simple.
Saudi Money Talks—And It’s Talking Loud
Of course, none of this would be possible without serious financial backing, and that’s where Turki Alalshikh comes in. The 43-year-old Saudi powerbroker has already transformed boxing by pouring hundreds of millions into the sport, bringing big fights to Saudi Arabia and forcing promoters like Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren—longtime rivals—to work together.
Now, he’s teaming up with White to take things a step further. And thanks to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the money behind this new venture is virtually limitless. If this league takes off, expect fighters to follow the cash. Forget tradition—if TKO Boxing (as fans call it) can offer bigger paydays than traditional promoters, boxers will jump ship without hesitation.
Of course, there’s the elephant in the room: sports washing. Saudi Arabia’s aggressive push into global sports—from soccer to golf—has drawn criticism as an attempt to soften its international image. Is this about growing boxing, or is it another strategic move to buy influence on the world stage?
For fighters, that question is irrelevant. If this league offers them more money, better promotion, and a clearer path to undisputed status, they’ll take it. At the end of the day, boxers are prizefighters, and this is about the biggest prize.
Can Dana White’s Model Work in Boxing?
White has built the UFC into a global powerhouse, but his model is far different from boxing’s chaotic system. In the UFC, White and the promotion control everything: the rankings, the matchmaking, and the championship belts. There are no competing organizations with their own champions, and no fighters are ducking fights because of promotional politics. If the UFC says you fight, you fight.
But boxing isn’t MMA. Fighters in boxing operate as independent contractors, and the major promoters (Hearn, Warren, Bob Arum, and Al Haymon) control their own stables of fighters. These promoters negotiate deals on behalf of their boxers, which often leads to political roadblocks preventing the best fights from happening. The biggest question now is: can White and Alalshikh convince boxing’s top fighters to sign with a new league that upends this system?
The Power Struggle Begins
Naturally, boxing’s old guard isn’t just going to roll over. While Hearn and Warren have played it cool publicly, this new league represents an existential threat to their business. If White and Alalshikh succeed, it could mean the end of the traditional promotional model.
Hearn, never one to lack confidence, shrugged off the challenge, saying:
“Call it arrogance, call it delusion: I’m the best boxing promoter in the world, bar none, so I have no fear if they want to try and crush me.”
Gotta be honest though, that sounds like an old guard that protecting a dying animal.
What Happens Next?
The league is set to launch in 2026, and there’s still the question of which fighters will sign up. Established champions with deep promotional ties may hesitate, but younger fighters looking for a direct path to stardom—and a big paycheck—might be eager to make the jump.
Then there’s the question of legitimacy. Boxing is a sport steeped in history. What would it mean for a fighter to be a “TKO Champion” instead of a WBC or WBA champion? Will fans recognize it as the ultimate prize, or will it be seen as a secondary league, like boxing’s answer to the XFL?
However, there’s something that many people may not consider.
The UFC has a lot of international reach, unlike the current state of boxing.
Dana White now has a facility in Mexico and has negotiations in China and Africa.
All it’s going to take is some incredible fights, and casual fans will be like, “WBC, who?”
That is going to start an avalanche and if you don’t believe it just look at Power Slap.
