Saudi Arabia has very much become the centre of the boxing universe recently but former champion Carl Froch has claimed ‘there’s no prestige.’
Saudi Arabia has invested hugely in the sport of boxing over the last few years and has really ramped it up in the last 12 moths. The first big night was the final of the World Boxing Super Series that saw Callum Smith defeat George Groves back in 2018.
After that, there were some high-profile YouTube boxing events with Tommy Fury and KSI, and the rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua for three of the four world titles was also in Saudi Arabia.
Before that, Joshua returns too when he takes on Ngannou on March 8 on a big night of boxing that comes a couple of months before another undisputed showdown between light heavyweights Dimitri Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.
Speaking to talkSport Boxing about the influence of the country on the sport, Froch did not sound impressed.
“I was fortunate enough to get paid really well towards the end of my career. The only benefit of going to Saudi Arabia is the money, nothing else, there is no atmosphere, no prestige, the crowds, that feeling of euphoria when you win, it’s just unbelievable.
“Obviously, 80, 000 at Wembley will never get beat, that’s why I retried. To be out there for an undisputed world title fight and you can hear a door shut in the background, where’s the crowd, where’s the energy? You don’t get that in Saudi.”
For boxing fans around the world, the fact the Saudi Arabians are making the big fights happen, even if the live crowds are lacking, is a huge positive.