Former world champion Carl Froch’s no nonsense responses continue with this being the latest.
There is talks boxing likely may attempt to go back to one world champion per weight division, of sorts, attempt to through the new TKO Boxing with Turki Alalshikh and Dana White.
Although the details are not clear on that just yet as it is still being put together.
Speaking now on his now hugely successful podcast Froch said:
“Is boxing broken? My answer is yes and no. Nobody wants a vague response, but let me explain. I get why some people think boxing’s broken—the best don’t always fight the best. Until Turki Alalshikh got involved, I don’t think Tyson Fury would’ve fought Usyk twice. Those fights happened because he was paid well—that’s the reason. Without Saudi investment, we might not have seen them. In that sense, it’s broken. You’ve got promotional divides, TV broadcaster issues—who gets the pay-per-view? Now, pay-per-views are shared: Sky Sports, DAZN, TNT (formerly BT Sport)—they split the pot, which didn’t used to happen until recently. Promoters and broadcasters are working together more, thanks to Turki Alalshikh from Saudi Arabia. So, when people like Dana White say boxing’s broken, they mean the fights aren’t getting made and the best aren’t fighting the best. Plus, there are three or four major titles—IBF, WBC, WBA, and the WBO. The WBO wasn’t even taken seriously until Floyd Mayweather won it years ago. With four belts, you can have four champions per division, unlike the UFC, where there’s one champ per division. Look at Tom Aspinall wanting to fight Jon Jones—Jones is the champ, Aspinall’s the interim, but there’s one clear titleholder. In boxing, with different sanctioning bodies, you’ve got three or four recognized champs per division. It’s confusing for casual fans and frustrating, but it keeps the sport busy. Undisputed fights, where all four belts are unified, give us one champion, but they don’t happen often enough. If the money’s not there, it’s a hassle.”
He added:
“So, is boxing broken? It depends on how you look at it. Could Dana White clean it up? Potentially. If boxing had a league like the UFC—where the top five or ten have a ranking system and there’s one champion, maybe the Ring Magazine champ—it could work. The WBC, WBA, and IBF might not like being sidelined, though. If all the top fighters—like Canelo Alvarez or the best in each division—joined a Saudi-backed league, it’d take time to evolve. The Saudis overpaid early on to get a foothold, but now they’re not shelling out as much. They’ve learned how to run boxing and are trying to take over. Fighters will still get paid well in a league format, and I think it’d be better for boxing long-term. In the short term, though, the best fighters will demand top pay, so it’ll be a slow transition. The new generation of fighters in a league could make it cleaner, easier, and more fan-friendly, but it’ll take years. Dana White’s right in a way—boxing’s broken because the best don’t always fight the best—but I love the sport. When they do, we get massive nights: 80,000 at Wembley, huge crowds in America. It’s not always about titles—look at Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. No belts, but it’s one of the biggest events this year. Boxing’s about exciting fights that capture the public’s imagination, not just the best vs. the best. Eubank Jr. and Benn aren’t champs, but people want to see it. That might not happen in a league format. So, boxing isn’t broken, but there’s room to improve. I think someone like Dana White or Turki Alalshikh pushing a league is a positive step for future generations—better structure, fairer pay, and the right fights. It’s still a bit of a Wild West, though—trainers and managers with no qualifications, chancers everywhere. Dana and Turki might clean that up.”
You know, it is maybe a good response from Froch.
Boxing maybe has been the wild, wild west for too long and a bit of proper structure and organization, with leaving a brand, on a more worldwide scale, for the sport, are only good things.
Something that may in fact unify it all by still having all the promoters, belts, organizations but unifying them more, some how, some way.
If one world champion per weight division can be made happen, surely most boxing fans will agree — that is not a good thing — it is a great thing.
Let’s make boxing great again in 2025 and beyond.
Well done to Carl Froch again, you never know, maybe we will see him return to the boxing ring once more, who knows.
