Turki Alalshikh is ready to become involved and assist in making a proposed fight between WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) and undisputed super-bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) if certain conditions can be agreed upon between the fighters.
The obvious elephant in the room is the wide weight discrepancy between Davis and Inoue, with a catchweight agreement being a likely option if Inoue is unwilling to jump to the 135lb lightweight limit from 122 lbs.
Despite the speculation of a fight between the hard-hitting fighters, Davis returns to action on June 15 against Frank Martin in Las Vegas. Davis naturally requires a win before any propositions for future fights can even be brought to the table.
Speaking to the MMA Hour, Alalshikh was confident in his ability and Riyadh Season’s vehicle to deliver a fight between Davis and Inoue.
“Gervonta Davis, if he gets smart, versus Naoya Inoue. These are dream fights I like. If they [Inoue and Tank] reach the right weight and give us the right proposal, we can deliver it,” Alalshikh told Ariel Helwani.
However, the chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority insisted on one condition before he would become involved in negotiations. Inoue must leave Japan and box internationally.
Despite common misconceptions previously in the West, Inoue has become a serious financial player within the sport, having recently appeared at the Tokyo Dome in Japan against Luis Nery in front of a capacity crowd.
Throughout history, the lower-weight divisions have been the least financially fruitful.
With the growth in status comes greater financial reward, which the four-weight world champion Inoue has earned. This has been reflected in Inoue’s ability to entice Stephen Fulton, Luis Nery, Marlon Tapales, and Nonito Donaire to fight in Japan.
“But there are important things – Inoue is a great fighter; don’t keep him fighting only inside Japan; let the world see it,” said Alalshikh.
“Make him [Inoue] come to us, make him do fights in Saudi Arabia, in America, in London, we are ready to talk about it. He’s a great fighter, it would be a shame if he quits after some years and 99 percent of his fights are in Japan.”
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