Oscar De La Hoya called The Ring a “dead asset” Thursday, questioning its credibility under Turki Alalshikh as reports emerged that DAZN has agreed to acquire a controlling interest in the publication.
The former owner urged its next purchaser to restore its integrity, rankings and rules. He also accused Saudi boxing spending of leaving big-name fighters waiting for larger checks instead of fighting one another.
“It’s a dead asset,” De La Hoya said in his Thursday Clapback video. “They stripped it [The Ring] of its credibility and made it purely biased and propaganda. … It’s harder to make fights. The big names are idle. They don’t want to fight each other. Not because they’re scared, but because they’re waiting for that big payday.”
Tris Dixon’s Total Boxing reports that a deal for DAZN to acquire control has been agreed, although the broadcaster has declined to confirm or deny the transaction. open.substack.com
De La Hoya’s criticism invites scrutiny of his own ownership. He sold The Ring to Alalshikh, meaning its connection to someone with a direct financial interest in boxing predates the current dispute.
The question across those ownership changes is whether its editorial staff and rankings panel can make decisions that run against the owner’s business interests.
DAZN ownership would create another version of that challenge. Fighters competing on other networks would need equal consideration in the rankings and championship decisions. Ownership alone would not prove favoritism, but readers would have reason to ask how those decisions are protected from commercial influence.
The belts and rankings also complicate De La Hoya’s “dead asset” description. They give The Ring influence beyond its reporting, provided fans continue to trust its judgments.
His payday argument concerns what happens when unusually large offers become the price fighters expect. If outside funding slows, promoters must negotiate purses against what tickets and broadcasting can support.
That could produce smaller checks or longer stretches of inactivity. De La Hoya believes the waiting is already happening. A reported magazine sale, however, does not establish his further claim that Alalshikh is finished with boxing.
