Боксын спортын салбарт Саудын Арабын хөрөнгө оруулалт багасвал тамирчдын өндөр цалингийн хүлээлт бодит байдалтай нүүр тулах болно гэж шинжээчид үзэж байна.
Саймон Жорданы үзэж буйгаар, промоутер Эдди Хирн болон Фрэнк Уоррен нарын хамтын ажиллагаа нь ашиг орлоготой холбоотой байсан бөгөөд Саудын Арабын санхүүжилт татарвал боксчид өмнөх өндөр төлбөртэй гэрээнүүдээс татгалзахад хүрч магадгүй юм. Хэрэв боксчид зах зээлийн бодит үнэлгээнээс хэтэрсэн өндөр цалин шаардсаар байвал үзэгчдийн сонирхол буурах эрсдэлтэй гэж тэрээр анхааруулжээ.
Энтони Жошуа, Тайсон Фьюри нарын хувьд олон нийтийн дунд өндөр нэр хүндтэй тул DAZN болон Netflix зэрэг платформуудаас орлого олох боломжтой хэвээр байна. Харин бодит борлуулалт буюу тасалбарын орлогоос илүүтэйгээр Саудын Арабын өндөр цалингаас хамааралтай болсон тамирчдад санхүүгийн хүндрэл тулгарч болзошгүй юм.
Сүүлийн үеийн тулаануудын үр дүнгээс харахад, хэт өндөр баталгаат цалин нь тамирчдын рингэн дээрх идэвх зүтгэлд сөргөөр нөлөөлж, өрсөлдөөнтэй тулаан гэхээсээ илүү болгоомжилсон, идэвхгүй тоглолтуудыг гаргахад хүргэж байна гэж шүүмжилжээ. Шакур Стивенсон, Девин Хейни нарын тулаануудыг жишээ болгон дурдаж, их хэмжээний мөнгө амласан нь тамирчдыг эрсдэлээс зайлсхийж, хамгаалалтад түлхүү анхаарахад хүргэсэн гэж үзэж байна.
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Simon Jordan wonders whether boxing can stay united if Turki Alalshikh walks away, but the real roadblock might be boxers clinging to inflated paydays.
Jordan discussed a possible exit, arguing that Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren only teamed up because the cash was right.
“They had a marriage of convenience based upon the fact that they could all make money together,” Simon said to talkSPORT Boxing.
Then he posed the big question about what follows if the Saudi funding dries up: “Does it just go back to what it was before?”
At first, things probably would regress. Boxers spoiled by massive paydays will likely turn down offers they once jumped at. Anyone who cashed enormous checks after flat performances is in for the roughest awakening.
Still, that stubbornness can only hold out for so long. Once everyone realizes the bottomless supply of Saudi cash has run dry, holding out for giant windfalls stops making sense.
Boxers can ask for absurd numbers all day long, yet someone actually has to write the check. If nobody bites, the choice becomes clear: take smaller paydays or sit on the couch while public interest fades. Over time, those massive events will become financially realistic again.
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will manage just fine. Both built massive fortunes, and their star power still brings serious money from platforms like DAZN or Netflix. Heavy fan demand gives them options, even if their skills slip. The real shock will hit the fighters whose Saudi paychecks dwarfed their actual ticket-selling power. Drawing a superstar purse doesn’t mean you draw a superstar crowd.
Jordan makes a fair point about promoters returning to their own islands. Still, Hearn and Warren will still join forces whenever an event promises enough profit. Whether Turki actually steps back is still up in the air. If he does, boxing faces an awkward slump of turned-down contracts before reality kicks in. Major fights will stall out in the short term, then finally get signed once price tags return to earth.
The narrative that Saudi money created a golden era of nonstop action falls apart when you look at what happened inside the ropes. It became an exclusive club for a handful of names who cashed generational checks while putting on glorified sparring sessions.
Look at that group. Shakur Stevenson took a bag to put on an absolute sleepwalker, playing tag and backpedaling like he had somewhere else to be. Devin Haney collected massive guaranteed purses while showing zero offensive urgency, relying on the same safety-first jab and clinch routine that emptied arenas back home.
The money spent versus the entertainment delivered has been one of the biggest disappointments in modern sports history. Turki Alalshikh publicly stated he wanted war, yet he handed out career-high guarantees that rewarded the exact opposite. When a fighter is promised tens of millions win, lose, or draw, survival instinct completely replaces aggression.
Why trade in the pocket and risk permanent damage when you can pick up generational wealth for twelve rounds of light cardio?
Turki thought an open checkbook would automatically manufacture classic brawls. Instead, he simply financed extreme risk aversion. The big names took the money, preserved their health, and left the fans with dull, low-output sparring sessions. Anyone would lose interest after subsidizing those returns.
