Undefeated Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue signs a significant sponsorship deal with Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the Saudi GEA.
Naoya Inoue is among the only three boxers to have achieved multi-divisional undisputed champion status since the start of the four-belt era. In recognition of his accomplishments, Inoue has taken advantage of the recent surge in Saudi investment in boxing. As such, he has reportedly signed a $19 million sponsorship deal with Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season.
In the last twelve months, Inoue ascended to the 122 lbs weight class and stopped both unified champions. He defeated Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales to achieve the status of super-bantamweight undisputed champion. He has since defended that title twice in 2024. Filled with pride, Alalshikh told Yahoo Sports Japan that Inoue will become a significant ambassador for Riyadh Season.
Inoue is the best and strongest boxer of all time. He has a great interest in Japan and the Japanese market. I hope he will be a good and important ambassador for Saudi Arabia and Riyadh Season…
Since his entry into the boxing community, Saudi GEA chairman, Turki Alalshikh, has made significant strides to improve the sport. He has organized several record-breaking events as a boxing promoter during his relatively short tenure.
Most recently, the “Battle of Britain” fight event set a record for the highest attendance at Wembley Stadium. Apart from Inoue, there were other boxers as well with whom Alalshikh was interested in collaborating. One of the notable names on that list was the Mexican boxing star Canelo Alvarez.
🚨INOUE SIGNS SAUDI DEAL
Naoya Inoue has signed a deal with Riyadh Season and Turki Alalshikh worth a reported ¥3billion (£15million)
(Yahoo Japan) pic.twitter.com/Rofas1BiGt
— Tokkerū (@ATokkers5) November 4, 2024 The Saudi delegate attempted to recruit Canelo for a super fight against Terence Crawford. However, the Mexican boxer appeared disinterested in the proposal. Following this, Alalshikh criticized Canelo harshly. Interestingly, there may be some significant developments for the Mexican boxer in the coming months related to the Saudi Delegate’s newly signed boxer.
