Turki Alalshikh has emerged as the man to have organised and arranged some of the biggest boxing fights in the past few years.
A Saudi Arabian adviser at the Royal Court under the rank of Minister and the current Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), Alalshikh has helped Saudi host a series of high profile fights.
Even when the fights are not in Saudi, the fingerprints of Turki Alalshikh are all over them.
Case in point being the recent fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
Taking place at Wembley Stadium in England, the bout was billed as part of Riyadh Season and there was even the Saudi national anthem sang before the main event.
If that’s not an indication of the influence of Turki Alalshikh and Saudi on the sport of boxing, then nothing is.
So when Alalshikh comments on what’s set to take place in the world of boxing, it’s important to take note.
And he’s just provided an insight into some of the future fights lined up.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol clash on Saturday, the Saudi matchmaker made a series of revelations.
“See in February again Queensberry against Matchroom, 5 vs 5, we will finish it maybe this week with a big surprise and then let’s see the result about this fight, the result of the big fight December 21, [Oleksandr] Usyk-Tyson [Fury].
“Joshua, Dubois, Tyson, Usyk, everyone, everyone on the line.
“This is what we want. We want the big fights and to see who’s really the best fighters in each division.”
There’s a lot to unpack there.
Firstly, it seems that Queensbury vs Matchroom 2 is taking place in February, with an official announcement coming soon.
And then Turki Alalshikh seems to imply that Joshua vs Dubois is likely to be happening around that time also.
So it looks like February 2025 is the date being earmarked for the rematch.
Of course, things can always change.
Right now, Anthony Joshua is still suspended from boxing and must wait until he’s allowed to return to the ring.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, has already stated that AJ’s preference is a rematch with Dubois.
So while the result from the Usyk vs Fury fight may alter things, it seems that the plan right now is for Anthony Joshua to fight Daniel Dubois in February.
And if anything can make that happen, Turki Alalshikh is certainly the man for the job.
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