Promoters Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn have defended Saudi Arabia’s involvement in boxing after criticism surrounding Daniel Dubois’ fight against Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium last Saturday.
The fight was organised by Riyadh Season and Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s general entertainment authority.
Saudi Arabia has faced criticism for human rights violations and has been accused of using sport, including boxing, to improve its image at home and abroad.
The Saudi national anthem was played in the ring before the fight began. Speaking at a news conference for the latest Riyadh Season event, Artur Beterbiev’s fight against Dmitry Bivol on 12 October, Warren said Saudi support “enabled” Dubois-Joshua to happen.
“Why is there criticism? A small minority complaining about the national anthem being played,” Warren said. “These type of events would not be able to be made without financial input.
“It’s for the love of boxing from His Excellency [Alalshikh] that has made that happen. The fans there, did you hear anyone moaning?”
Riyadh Season has partnered with Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing to stage big events in Saudi Arabia and the edition at Wembley was the first one in the UK.
Warren, who promotes Dubois, was echoing the comments of Hearn, who promotes Joshua. Hearn said the bout was the “shot in the arm” needed for British boxing.
“That shot in the arm was provided in the most unexpected way via Riyadh Season,” Hearn said. “With this event, [it] will mark one year since big-time boxing began in Riyadh Season. I still can’t understand the negativity and moans from some people.
“Riyadh Season is a project that takes place in Riyadh. What we saw last week was a passion for sport that His Excellency has. A man who listened to the fight fans and went above and beyond to deliver for British fight fans who said they wanted to experience a Riyadh Season event.”
Why did Dubois-Joshua attract criticism?
Dubois-Joshua was used as an advertisement for Saudi Arabia, with multiple Saudi-themed fan events as well as the playing of the country’s national anthem, which was said to “honour” the Saudi partners.
The criticism was followed by a Telegraph piece on Sunday, which said the newspaper’s journalist, Oliver Brown, was stopped from attending the fight when he arrived at Wembley Stadium.
The incident raised concerns about freedom of the press and free speech. Queensberry had no comment on Brown being denied entry.
Riyadh Season put on its first major boxing event on October 28 when Francis Ngannou fought Tyson Fury.
Saudi Arabia had previously been involved in boxing, including Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz in 2019, but the Kingdom’s interest in the sport has since been taken over by Alalshikh and Riyadh Season.
Saudi Arabia has spent around £5bn in sport since 2021 — saying the investment is being used to diversify the economy away from a dependency on oil.
Many critics claim Saudi’s investment in boxing is to gain legitimacy and deflect attention from controversy over its human rights record, a practice known as ‘sportswashing’.
The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 outraged the international community, and Saudi continues to conduct war in Yemen.
While Saudi Arabia has made significant social reforms in recent years — in 2018 it changed the law to allow women to drive and to attend football matches - the country continues to face criticism from human rights organisations for a rise in the number of executions and arrests for online dissent, as well as severe restrictions on women and LGBTQ+ people in the kingdom.