DAZN agrees deal for controlling interest in The Ring, report claims

DAZN has agreed a deal to acquire a controlling interest in The Ring from Turki Alalshikh, according to Total Boxing, although the transaction has not been publicly confirmed.

Multiple sources told the outlet that DAZN had become the majority stakeholder in the publication and its championship belts. One said: “Turki sold controlling interest of The Ring magazine and belt to DAZN.” A second source, asked to confirm the development, replied: “Yes, quite a while ago.”

The agreement was said to have been reached more than two weeks ago, although a third source described the process as ongoing. DAZN declined to confirm or deny the report.

“As company policy, we do not confirm, deny, or comment on market rumours or speculation regarding M&A [mergers and acquisitions], partnerships or rights deals,” the company said.

The size of DAZN’s reported holding and whether the transaction has formally completed remain unclear.

DAZN’s Saudi links

DAZN, owned and funded by Len Blavatnik, already has financial ties to Saudi Arabia. In February 2025, SURJ Sports Investment, identified on the Public Investment Fund’s website as a PIF company specialising in sports investments, was reported to have purchased a $1 billion stake in the streaming service.

Alalshikh bought The Ring from Oscar De La Hoya in November 2024 for a reported $10 million, ending the Golden Boy promoter’s 17-year ownership. He said at the time that he had acquired the magazine outright and promised to restore its print edition while protecting its independence.

“Earlier this week, I finalized a deal to acquire 100% of The Ring magazine, and I want to make a few things clear,” Alalshikh said. “The print version of the magazine will return immediately after a two-year hiatus and it will be available in the US and UK markets. The magazine will be fully independent and focusing on every aspect in the sport of boxing.”

The print magazine subsequently returned after two years as a digital-only publication, while The Ring’s archives were digitised and made freely available on its website. Founded in 1922, The Ring is the second-oldest boxing magazine behind Britain’s Boxing News, which was established in 1909.

Under Alalshikh, The Ring also expanded into staging events through licensed promotional partners in Britain and companies including Top Rank, Golden Boy and Premier Boxing Champions in the United States. Those shows have been broadcast by DAZN, linking the streaming platform to a brand operating across journalism, rankings, championship belts and event promotion.

That expansion prompted questions about potential conflicts of interest. BoxingScene was denied accreditation for events staged under The Ring banner, while some of the magazine’s social-media posts were criticised for targeting people and organisations that had clashed with or criticised Alalshikh.

One post focused on ProBox TV and BoxingScene owner Garry Jonas after BoxingScene reported proposed pay scales for the TKO boxing league. Another claimed Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was in financial difficulty and struggling to sell tickets for Daniel Dubois’ proposed fight with Fabio Wardley, although tickets had not yet gone on sale. A Community Note disputed the financial claim, citing $15 million in profits reported by Queensberry for the previous year.

The print operation is understood to have functioned largely separately from the online business, although the cost of producing and distributing a physical magazine has raised questions about its long-term future.

The Ring has survived previous damage to its reputation, most notably the 1977 ABC tournament scandal, in which falsified records and payments for favourable rankings were uncovered.

Questions over The Ring’s independence

De La Hoya has since said he regrets selling the publication. Asked by Ariel Helwani whether he had second thoughts, he replied: “The way things are going, I actually do [regret it]. And I never regret anything.”

De La Hoya also said The Ring’s rankings were “out the window”, adding: “I don’t think there’s any integrity there whatsoever. The Ring magazine was everything, for a hundred years, and now it can just be in the trash can… It means nothing.”

If completed, the reported deal would give DAZN control of a publication whose championships can involve fighters from many of the promotional companies carried by the platform, including Matchroom, Queensberry, Top Rank, Golden Boy, Boxxer, PBC and Salita Promotions.

Its position across the sport could help The Ring facilitate fights or tournaments for vacant championships, while inviting further scrutiny of the separation between its editorial, rankings and commercial operations.

The report also comes at a potentially significant moment for Alalshikh’s involvement in boxing.

Speaking at the London press conference announcing Tyson Fury’s fight with Anthony Joshua, Alalshikh again discussed his health and his desire to complete his plans for the sport, while suggesting his involvement may be approaching an end.

“In the end, I am going… today, tomorrow, in the end, you are all making history here,” he said. “My health in the last four months is not good. I come here only for the fighters.”

Total Boxing also reported that one insider believes Alalshikh could leave the sport by the end of the year.

That raises a broader question over whether the reported sale of The Ring could form part of a wider shift in the Saudi-backed approach to boxing.

Alalshikh retains substantial links to the sport through his professional relationship with Sela, which owns 60 per cent of Zuffa Boxing, the Dana White-fronted venture established with TKO Group in March 2025.

If Alalshikh is beginning to step back from directly staging major events, Zuffa Boxing and its partnership with TKO could become an increasingly important part of the long-term structure created during Saudi Arabia’s expansion into the sport. There is, however, currently no confirmation that the reported Ring transaction forms part of a wider withdrawal from boxing.

Neither DAZN nor The Ring has publicly confirmed a change of control or detailed what it would mean for the magazine’s editorial operation, rankings, championship policy, promotional activity or print edition.

If the reported transaction is completed, it would mark another major change in ownership for one of boxing’s oldest and most recognisable brands, less than two years after Alalshikh acquired it from De La Hoya.