Turki Alalshikh Laughs off Jake Paul vs. KSI Fight: “I do boxing, not shows.”
Turki Alalshikh has zero interest in promoting a fight between Jake Paul and KSI.
Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, has put his stamp on the sport of boxing in recent years by booking some of the biggest bouts fight fans have been clamoring to see. Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua’s recent scraps with Francis Ngannou and Daniel Dubois, and the upcoming clash between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, just to name a few.
In February 2023, Saudi Arabia also played host to Jake Paul’s showdown with Tommy Fury, though it sounds like His Excellency is not chomping at the bit to get back into business with ‘The Problem Child’ anytime soon.
Addressing the possibility of a long-rumored fight between Paul and fellow YouTube star KSI going down in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Alalshikh made it clear that he’s only interested in hosting another Paul fight once the 28-year-old decides to become a real boxer.
“I think he doesn’t like me right now and hasn’t for the past two months,” Alalshikh said. “I’ll be honest, I like him as part of the younger generation, and he has a lot of fans. My kids are among them. But I think he needs to decide what he really wants. “If he wants to be a real boxer, he needs to take on big fights against boxers, not treat it like a show. That’s my opinion because it’s damaging to boxing. I know he doesn’t like this, especially what I said about his last fight. I said it wasn’t boxing, and I’m not joking.
“If he wants to continue in this field and be part of Riyadh Season, he needs to fight real boxers. That’s my opinion. If he does that, I’ll support him.” When asked if he would ever support a fight between the two social media stars, Alalshikh said: “No, I would never support something like that, even if it’s popular with people. I do boxing, not shows” (h/t Manchester Evening News).
Currently, Jake Paul is gearing up for a fight with legendary heavyweight pugilist ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson. The two are scheduled to tussle on Friday, November 15 live from the 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Turki Alalshikh has no interest in the Influencer boxing scene
Alalshikh did make it clear that his objection is not just with Jake Paul, but with the entire influencer boxing scene. In short, Alalkshikh wants no part of it.
“Please, we don’t want any YouTuber fights again. I don’t talk about names. I want fighters, real fighters. This is what I support. For me, inside my heart, I want the fighters.”
Aside from the light heavyweight title fight between Beterbiev and Bivol at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Alalshikh will also deliver the highly anticipated rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday, December 21 in the Saudi Arabian capital.
The first time around, Usyk scored a split decision over ‘The Gyspy King’ to become boxing’s first unified heavyweight world champion in more than two decades.
