Todd duBoef, Top Rank President, Says DmitryBivol-Artur Beterbiev Fight Couldn’t Happen Without Saudi Support

Top Rank President, Todd DuBoef, knows the support from Saudi Arabia has been crucial for boxing.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been helping create the biggest fights in the sport due to the money they have and that shows on June 1. The event sees Beterbiev vs Bivol, Wilder vs. Zhang and other very intriguing matchups, which DuBoef is excited for.

“When the fans call for years to see fights that never happen, now they can happen where His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] and the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] is helping facilitate these dream match-ups,” said duBoef. “Unifying the heavyweight title for the first time [in the four belt era] [firstly with Tyson Fury facing Oleksandr Usyk on May 18], seeing two of the great light heavyweights in the last decade finally go [two weeks later], contrasts of style – I love it.” 

According to Todd duBoef, he believes Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol could have never happened without the backing of Saudi Arabia.

“I don’t want to say yes or no, because I don’t know,” duBoef said, when asked whether the fight would have happened anyway. “A lot of it is expectation, it’s what their expectations are, and when there isn’t the opportunity for, ‘Hey, how can we facilitate it? We all come together, roll up our sleeves, sharpen our elbows and figure out how we can split and divide and conquer, and bring it to the place’. 

“Obviously they’re helping facilitate that much easier and quicker, so we’d have to weigh with the expectations of where both guys are, but it couldn’t have happened on this timeline without their help.”