The most powerful figure in boxing, some say, wants two highly regarded American boxers to join the lucrative jamboree that is all the rage these days in the Middle East. (photo by Ryan Hafey)

In a long interview with DAZN published this week, Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Authority for Entertainment in Saudi Arabia, issued a generous invitation to boxers Devin Haney, the WBC 140-pound titlist, and Gervonta Davis to fight on a card sometime later this year in the oil-producing nation. Presumably, Alalshikh would also want to see the two fighters take on each other as well.

“I want him (Davis) and I send message now from you to [Davis’ advisor Al] Haymon: ‘Let’s do job [together], brother,’” Alalshikh said. “But Haney I want to see in my country and I send message from you now to him. I will try to do it in 2024. And Davis of course we want him in our country.”

Thanks to Alalshikh and his ability to dip into Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth, boxing has seen numerous high-profile fights made in the past few months, including the stacked heavyweight-laden card on Dec. 23 that featured Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder in separate fights. The country will notably host the undisputed heavyweight championship between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Uysk on Feb. 17, followed by a “crossover” bout between Joshua and former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in March.

Alalshikh has been bullish about his commitment to boxing, saying recently that he wants to actively bring about the sorts of fights that have long been considered impossible because of business politics. One example: the undisputed light heavyweight championship between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Haney is a free agent whose last fight took place under Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, while Davis has long been backed by Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champion.

Both Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) and Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) are relatively recent converts to Islam. Alalshikh has spoken fondly of Muslim boxers, such as Beterbiev.

Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney are the latest names to be targeted for fights in Saudi Arabia in the near future.

Less than six months after entering the sport, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh (chairman of Saudi’s General Entertainment Authority – GEA) has made a serious impact.

The first two shows backed by the GEA have seen Tyson Fury, Francis Ngannou, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder all travel to fight in Riyadh, supported by several other top names from the sport.

Fury will now fight Oleksandr Usyk there on February 17, and this will be followed shortly afterwards by AJ vs Ngannou on March 8.

And the plans don’t stop there as Alalshikh has made it clear that he wants to stage Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol in June.

Now, in an interview with DAZN, he has spoken in depth about his plans and revealed that Davis and Haney are two names he wants to bring to Saudi.

“I want him [Davis] and I send message now to Al Haymon [Davis’ advisor] – let’s do the job brother,” Alalshikh said.

“I want to see Haney in my country and I send message now to him. I will try to do it in 2024.”

Asked if he would like to match them against one another, Alalshikh indeed gave a nod of approval.

However, he is not the first person to stage big-time boxing in Saudi Arabia.

Previously, Skill Challenge Entertainment hosted fights such as the Joshua vs Andy Ruiz rematch and the Joshua vs Usyk rematch in the country.

They also staged Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury in Diriyah last year.

There won’t be any further such YouTuber boxing events moving forwards though, as Alalshikh is adamant that he’s a boxing purist.

“Please, we don’t want any YouTuber fights again,” he insited.

“I want fighters, this is what I support. For me, inside my heart, I want the fighters.”

After Gervonta Davis, now Abdul Wahid after converting to Islam, turned down Bill Haney‘s $20 million to fight Devin Haney, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh publicly revealed he looked forward to staging Haney vs. Davis in Saudi Arabia this year. At this, Haney publicly announced his interest in facing ‘Tank’ Davis.

Taking to X, ‘The Dream’ declared he has been pursuing Gervonta for years. Likewise, following Alashikh’s message, the WBC Super Lightweight champion hoped Davis’ team would reach out to Haney. However, given the current circumstances, ‘The Dream’ also pointed out why a fight with Davis in Saudi Arabia was currently out of reach.

Devin Haney regrets Gervonta Davis won’t be able to fly to Saudi Arabia for a fight

After His Excellency Turki Alalshikh expressed that he was in favor of Devin Haney vs. Gervonta Davis in Saudi Arabia this year, Haney took to X and announced he was open to fighting ‘Tank’ whenever the latter wanted a contest. Additionally, he encouraged Team Davis to make an offer to Team Haney. However, despite the interest shown by Alalshikh and Haney, one cannot forget that Davis is still under house arrest and does not have permission to start training for a fight.

As a result, although Haney wanted to face ‘Tank’, the WBC Super Lightweight champion bemoaned the fact that Davis could not leave his house. “He can’t leave his house…,” wrote ‘The Dream’. In this context, it must be mentioned that after Davis was found guilty in a hit-and-run case which happened in 2020, the boxer was sentenced to 90 days of house arrest and 200 hours of community service.

In 2023, after ‘Tank’ violated the terms of this house arrest, he went to jail. Although he was released after 44 days, the boxer was prevented from celebrating Christmas with his family as well as resuming his training. As a result, under the present circumstances, it is not possible for Davis to leave the US and visit Saudi Arabia for a fight.

Haney and his father roasted ‘Tank’

While His Excellency Turki Alashikh shows interest in a potential Haney vs. Davis, ‘Tank’ recently rattled the boxing world as he claimed that he “almost knocked out” Devin in a sparring match. However, as soon as the words reached Haney, ‘The Dream’ denied the claim. In fact, the 25-year-old announced that he had punished Gervonta well in their sparring match. Added to this, Bill Haney, the father of Devin, belittled Davis’ boxing skills and called the same no match for Haney.

Devin Haney doesn’t know exactly what it would take during inevitably complicated negotiations to finalize a deal for him to fight Gervonta Davis.

The former undisputed lightweight champion is absolutely sure, though, that a bout between those unbeaten contemporaries would be bigger than any other bout that can be made in the sport. That’s why Haney didn’t hesitate when he was asked during an open workout recently at the Top Rank Gym to identify the fighter who would help him make the most money on the largest stage possible.

“Tank Davis,” Haney told a group of reporters. “I think that’s the biggest fight in boxing, to be real. You know, we all know what kinda draw he is. You know, we know what kinda draw I’m becoming. And I think it’s a huge fight.”

Since Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) vacated the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO lightweight titles, it is believed Baltimore’s Davis would need to move up from 135 pounds to 140 again to fight him. Haney would become a more appealing potential opponent for Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) if he were to beat Regis Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) when they fight for Prograis’ WBC super lightweight title Saturday night at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Davis’ last fight, a seventh-round knockout of rival Ryan Garcia on April 22 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, generated approximately $22.8 million in ticket sales and reportedly 1.2 million pay-per-view buys. The WBA secondary lightweight champion’s past four fights have been contested at the lightweight limit of 135 pounds, but he moved up to 140 pounds to battle Mario Barrios, whom Davis dropped three times and defeated by 11th-round technical knockout in June 2021 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

The 29-year-old Davis doesn’t have a fight scheduled, though he is expected to remain in the lightweight division when he returns to the ring early in 2024.

While Davis would be his highest-profile opponent, Haney is also interested in fighting Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) and another opponent Davis knocked out, WBA super lightweight champ Rolly Romero (15-1, 13 KOs).

“We know Rolly, but I don’t know where Rolly been at,” Haney said. “I ain’t seen Rolly lately. But that’s another fight to be made in the 140 [division]. But like I said, I gotta get past Regis Prograis and then we go from there. But I wanna make the biggest fights happen, the biggest money fights happen. You know, I became undisputed, made history, defended my belts, you know, became the youngest to do so. But now it’s time for me to make the biggest fights happen. Like I said, my next fight ought to be back in the Bay Area or we going to Saudi [Arabia].”

Prograis, of Katy, Texas, and Haney, of Henderson, Nevada, will square off in a DAZN Pay-Per-View main event at the home arena of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. This four-fight show will begin at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) and is listed at a suggested retail price of $59.99 for DAZN subscribers and $74.99 for non-subscribers.

Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney have been engaged in a verbal sparring match that shows no signs of cooling down.

A recent post on X from Davis aimed at Haney claimed imitation, sparking a swift and cutting response from the latter.

Is a fight happening between Davis and Haney?

Gervonta Davis threw the first punch with a tweet asserting, “All them lil ni**as wanna be like me…I’m their biggest test…so they don’t want to admit but you can peep.”

This not only fueled discussions within the boxing community but also hinted at a perceived reluctance from Haney to face Davis in the ring.

Haney’s response was signature, cutting, and hinted at more than just a war of words.

“All this b*tch do is talk. Ion ever wanna b a pu**y like u,” retorted Haney, turning the verbal exchange into a potential

prelude for an actual fight.

The tension surrounding a potential match between the two champions escalated, adding another chapter to the narrative of Davis seemingly denying a $20 million fight with Haney.

Despite Haney expressing his eagerness for a showdown, the bout has yet to materialize, leaving fans speculating about the underlying reasons.

In the midst of this, Haney is reportedly in talks to face Ryan Garcia, diverting attention but not diluting the anticipation.

A fan’s tweet comparing the two fighters’ styles led to Davis accusing Haney of copying his fashion.

The fan humorously suggested, “I feel like this year @Realdevinhaney you gotta start paying @Gervontaa for his styling services it’s getting outta hand now.”

Davis fired back, emphasizing, “He been doing this for years.. he’s a d**k eater,” underscoring that the extend of their rivalry.

WBA’s positive update for Davis

In a separate development, Gervonta Davis received positive news from the WBA after Devin Haney’s decision to vacate his undisputed lightweight titles.

Despite Davis initially expressing reluctance, the WBA confirmed him as the sole WBA lightweight world champion, resolving the Regular/Super belt situation in the division.

Whether Davis remains in the lightweight division or explores a move to super-lightweight remains uncertain, adding another layer of intrigue to the evolving narrative of these two boxing titans.

Gervonta Davis has been accused of actively avoiding Devin Haney after the best was named one of the best in boxing today.

Following Haney’s win over Regis Prograis, Davis was the name on everybody’s lips for a massive Pay Per View clash in 2024.

However, Bill and Devin Haney both state that “Tank” is looking at other opponents for a potential March return. Haney is not on that list, according to them both.

Gervonta Davis vs Devin Haney

Devin said: “Tank doesn’t want to fight. If he really wanted to fight, he would be trying to build up the fight. Instead, he’s trying to knock it down or say I’m only selling because of this or that.

“If he really wanted to fight me, he would say it’s a big fight and the best fight for boxing. He only talks down on the fight. But like I’ve said, they say everything, but let’s fight.”

Asked what was next for him if Davis was unavailable, Haney added: “I don’t know. I want to talk to my dad and see what’s next. I want to do a fight at 147, but there’s a lot of big fights at 140.

“I’m into making the biggest, best fights in the sport of boxing. That’s where I’m at. I became undisputed at 135, made history, and am in the history books forever.

“Now I want to make the biggest fights happen, for the most money, to be honest. My dad’s been looking at the 147 lb landscape. You would have to ask him.”

Tank should fight Haney

When prompted for a response, Bill immediately fired at Davis.

“Tank and his team have consistently lied to the people. So a message to all the fans is to stop letting Tank and his team p— on your head and tell you it’s raining with these insignificant fights.

“They are saying it’s ‘for the culture.’ Devin represents the culture. He represents boxing and what boxing should be and what boxing is.”

On whether Ryan Garcia would be an alternative target, Devin concluded: “That’s a possibility, that’s a mega-fight. I’ve been calling out Ryan for years now, and it’s good to hear that he finally wants to fight.

“It sucks that it came after he took an L, but it was only a matter of time. But now he finally wants to call me out. At the end of the day, it’s still a big fight.

“Like I said, I want to make the best fights, biggest fights happen. What’s crazy is I saw Ryan right before I went into training camp. He didn’t say anything about fighting me.

“So, I literally was shopping. We ran into each other at a store. He didn’t say anything about fighting.”