Boxing’s union with the Saudi government represents the sport’s latest step away from a self-sustaining business model
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA) took the next step toward achieving dominance over boxing’s heavyweight division as part of a campaign to burnish The Kingdom’s image and engender tourism through what has become known as “sportswashing”.
An eight-fight card featuring Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder in separate bouts was contested in Riyadh. The GEA under the direction of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh was its primary architect. The event was styled “Day of Reckoning” – a term laden with symbolism in both Islam and Christianity.