Are the Saudis really ruining boxing?

There’s a new mantra in championship boxing. Try speaking to anyone from that world – a big-time promoter, trainer or fighter – and before you can get a word in, they’ll say something like: ‘I’d like to thank His Royal Highness King Salman Abdulaziz al-Saud, the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and, of course, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Turki Al al-Sheikh.’ In the last few years, the Saudis have spent hundreds of millions, more than anyone else can offer, to stage the world’s greatest bouts on their holy sand. They’re trying to take over golf and football too. Everyone in the fight business is getting rich, and no one wants it to end.

One of the upcoming Saudi-sponsored fights is between the British Anthony Joshua and the Cameroonian Francis Ngannou. At the ‘Kick-off Press Conference’ in London on Monday, everyone was being very nice about their Saudi paymasters.