Turki Alalshikh apparently has no desire to start begging the biggest American boxing star to come over to Saudi Arabia.
Alalshikh, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in the oil-producing country, recently said in an interview that he hopes Gervonta Davis, the power puncher from Baltimore, Maryland, will fight in Saudi Arabia sometime in 2024.
When an annoyed Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) got wind of Alalshikh’s comment, he fancied that he would need at least “two Ferraris” or something to that effect to even begin thinking about fighting in the Middle East.
“They made me mad, if they want me they gotta send me something to my front door, like 2 Ferraris or [something]!” Davis wrote on his X account.
Alalshikh did not seem to take too kindly to those words. In response, Alalshikh offered a curt reply to Davis during a recent interview with The MMA Hour, making it clear there won’t be any added incentives anymore.
“I heard in the media Davis said, send to me two Ferraris to play in Saudi Arabia,” Alalshikh said. “I said to him we will send you two gloves if you want to play in Saudi Arabia, that’s it.”
Saudi Arabia has emerged in recent months as a significant boxing destination. Under Alalshikh, the country has hosted and announced a slew of high-profile fights, including the upcoming “crossover” bout between former champion Anthony Joshua and former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
The undisputed heavyweight championship between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk was supposed to take place later this month, in Riyadh, but it was postponed last Friday after it was revealed that Fury suffered a gruesome cut during sparring.
Alalshikh has confirmed that the new date for that fight is May 18.
Alalshikh also confirmed that the undisputed light heavyweight championship between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol will take place in June in Riyadh.
Davis, a longtime advisee of Al Haymon, the media-averse powerbroker and founder of Premier Boxing Champions, is expected to fight later this year on Amazon Prime pay-per-view.
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.