Arab business in fighting: pure boxing loses out
Arab business in fighting: losing out è boxing
Not only in the world of soccer: Saudi Arabia has been setting foot in boxing for some time now and it seems to be unwilling to stop. After a few titular matches hosted in the land of the Middle East (Ruiz vs Joshua 2, Usyk vs Joshua 2), it seems that another trend is in vogue.
The new, million-dollar business in the fighting world is veering to a formula that è very profitable from the economic point of view but unexciting from the sporting side. These are the so-called "hybrid" bouts between MMA fighters and boxing champions. A match that, inevitably, brings together fans from different sports resulting in real sell-outs.
The downside, però è is the loss of the true essence of the sport. People prefer a match that, sportingly, è is always too unbalanced to matches of two athletes from the same sports category.
The most glaring example concerns WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. The Gipsy King, in fact, has refused to defend his title in order to face former MMA champion Francis Ngannou in a hybrid bout in Riyadh next Oct. 28.
On the other hand, a challenge that for months seemed close to fruition between the two former world champions Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua seems on the verge of fading. That's because the sheikhs no longer have as much interest in investing in a real boxing match. Their goal è only one: boxing+MMA.
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