LAS VEGAS -- Canelo Alvarez, boxing's top star, retained his unified super middleweight championship with a unanimous decision victory over Edgar Berlanga on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Alvarez floored Berlanga with a monstrous left hook in Round 3 -- his money punch -- and prevailed via scores of 117-110, 118-109 and 118-109. ESPN scored it a 120-107 shutout.
This was the fifth consecutive decision victory for Alvarez, who hasn't scored a knockout win since he defeated Caleb Plant in November 2021. It's also the fourth consecutive bout where Alvarez scored a knockdown.
"Now what are they gonna say?" Alvarez, 34, said during his postfight interview. "I fight younger fighters. They say I fight older fighters. They always talk. ... My experience, my talent, my hard work, my intelligence, everything together [makes me the best]. If you have talent but you don't have discipline, you have nothing."
Alvarez, ESPN's No. 5 pound-for-pound boxer, is an all-time great. Berlanga, meanwhile, was fighting on the world-class level for the first time. Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) was a -1600 favorite, per ESPN BET, and a -250 favorite to earn the win inside the distance.
However, Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) rarely threw a power punch, clearly wary of presenting a counter-punching opportunity for one of the sport's best at capitalizing on such openings. Following the knockdown, as Berlanga sat on the canvas and banged his gloves together, he entered survival mode.
Alvarez pressed forward and tried to close distance as Berlanga pumped his jab from out of range. And while Berlanga was rugged on the inside and showed some toughness, he clearly wasn't willing to sell out and risk becoming a knockout victim.
"I'm upset," Berlanga said. "I fought a legend tonight. Hopefully this is the start today of me becoming a future legend. ... I took his best shot, I believe, in the third round."
The Brooklynite of Puerto Rican heritage began his career with 16 first-round KOs, but as he stepped up in competition, his power dissipated. Berlanga, 27, entered his first title shot on the heels of a sixth-round knockout victory over Padraig McCrory in February.
Alvarez, naturally, is several levels above such an opponent, and his wealth of experience showed. He was the far more comfortable fighter, though he was frustrated on occasion by Berlanga's roughhouse tactics, as referee Harvey Dock warned the pair numerous times.
"Fighters like to throw each other off their games," Berlanga said.
Alvarez was once again headlining on Mexican Independence Day weekend, one of two boxing holidays reserved for the sport's top attraction. And he wasn't ready to discuss whom he wants to face when he eventually returns on Cinco De Mayo weekend.
In the lead-up to the bout, Alvarez told ESPN on Wednesday he was interested in a rematch with Dmitry Bivol, who defeated him in May 2022 at 175 pounds. That's provided that Bivol beats Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed light heavyweight championship Oct. 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Another option was ringside: Terence Crawford, the future Hall of Famer who remains undefeated. He made his 154-pound debut last month with a win over Israil Madrimov and told ESPN on Thursday he'd like to fight Alvarez at the full-fledged 168-pound limit with no rehydration clause.
"I think it would tell the No. 1 guy of this era in the post-Mayweather era, who's the king of kings," Crawford said.
Whomever Alvarez fights next, he'll still be in search of his first knockout victory since November 2021, though he hasn't lost many rounds in the process.
Alvarez said: "I'm the best fighter in the world."
Mexico's Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez and England's Chris Billam-Smith will meet in a cruiserweight title unification Nov. 16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, it was announced Tuesday.
The matchup will headline a five-fight Riyadh Season "Latino Night" card promoted by Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy. Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, said the event will be broadcast globally for free, though no details were revealed.
"This card features some of the best Latino fighters around and continues our drive to deliver top-tier boxing events by giving fans throughout the world the fights they want to see," Alalshikh said.
The previously reported Jose Ramirez-Arnold Barboza junior welterweight fight -- slated for Sept. 28 in Las Vegas -- will serve as the co-feature in a battle of Mexican Americans. Mexico's William Zepeda, a top lightweight contender, will prepare for a planned February title fight against Shakur Stevenson with a bout against former champion Tevin Farmer.
Puerto Rico's Oscar Collazo will defend his WBO strawweight title against Mexico's Edwin Hernandez, and Mexico's Oscar Duarte will meet Chicago's Kenny Sims in a 140-pound bout.
Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) won the WBA title at 200 pounds with a decision over Arsen Goulamirian in March. The 33-year-old former 168-pound champion is rated No. 5 by ESPN at cruiserweight.
The 34-year-old Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) will make the third defense of the title he won from Lawrence Okolie in May 2023. Billam-Smith -- ESPN's No. 2 cruiserweight -- is coming off a June decision over Richard Riakporhe.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The Algerian boxing federation that is home to Olympic champion Imane Khelif on Tuesday joined the World Boxing group that wants to save the sport's place at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Algeria and Japan joining World Boxing increases the organization's membership to 44 federations, with applications from more countries being processed.
Boxing's Olympic status is uncertain. The International Olympic Committee has set a deadline of early next year for a credible governing body to be in place after years of turmoil with the International Boxing Association.
The Russian-led IBA was formally banished by the IOC in June 2023 and their yearslong dispute flared at the Paris Games. Khelif and another female gold medalist, Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan, were caught up in a global furor and misinformation about their gender.
Khelif and Lin had been disqualified by the IBA ahead of medal bouts at the 2023 women's world championships over claims they failed eligibility tests. The boxers qualified for the Olympics, where they were supported by the IOC. Details of the IBA's claims remained murky.
World Boxing, which also added Taiwan as a member since the Olympics, has been working with the IOC to become the recognized governing body.
The decision by Algeria and Japan "is further evidence of the widespread desire for change that exists across our sport," World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst said in a statement, "and illustrates how important it is that we retain boxing's place at the heart of the Olympic movement."
Tim Tszyu will get the chance to emulate his legendary father as a multiple world champion when he takes on undefeated Russian Bakhram Murtazaliev for the IBF super-welterweight belt in Florida next month.
After weeks of negotiations, Team Tszyu have agreed on Australia's son of a gun to fight Murtazaliev at Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando on October 19 (October 20 AEST).
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) had first officially ordered Murtazaliev to defend his world title against Tszyu because the Sydneysider was the highest-ranked IBF contender and a former WBO world champion.
But after having a succession of scheduled blockbusters fall over, mostly through no shows from his opponents, Tszyu was concerned Murtazaliev might be the next to leave him hanging.
The 29-year-old's promoter said his looming date with destiny was nothing less than Tszyu deserved after only relinquishing his WBO strap in March with a cruel loss to American Sebastian Fundora in Las Vegas.
Tszyu had been unbeaten and won the opening two rounds before suffering a ghastly head gash after catching Fundora's elbow and ultimately losing a split decision.
"There are very few fighters in the world that can endure what Tim went through in his last fight and come out bigger, better and stronger than before," said No Limit Boxing boss George Rose.
"Tim Tszyu is that guy. He lives to fight and has a warrior spirit that is completely unbreakable.
"You won't want to miss this. He is about to remind everyone why he is the best 154-pounder in the world."If Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) can defeat Murtazaliev (22-0, 16KOs), he will join his former unified world champion dad Kostya as the first Australian father-son boxers to claim multiple world title belts.
"At this level, you have to take everyone out and Bakhram is the next guy standing in my way," Tszyu said.
"The world knows me and they know what I'm about. I'm thankful to my team for putting me in this position to prove why I'm still the man at 154 pounds.
"Bakhram has what I want and I plan on taking it from him in spectacular fashion. It's time to become a two-time world champion."
Main Events CEO Kathy Duva is predicting a battle for the ages.
"Even before his spectacular win against Jack Culcay to earn the IBF title in Germany, Bakhram made it clear that he wanted Tim Tszyu next," Duva said.
"He also said he wanted the match-up to happen in the U.S. so that everyone could see him fight, so I'm really happy that this deal came together to take place in front of a wide audience on Prime Video.
"Both of these fighters tend to come forward and engage and I would not be surprised if this turns out to be the fight of the year."
Eddie Hearn has said he hopes Conor Benn's boxing ban in the United Kingdom for testing positive for a banned substance will be over next month.
The Matchroom promoter said the English welterweight's lawyers are in talks with UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) and the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) over Benn's suspended boxing license, which prevents him from boxing in his home country.
Benn (23-0, 14 KOs), the son of former super middleweight and middleweight champion Nigel, tested positive for clomiphene in October 2022, causing a scheduled bout against Chris Eubank Jr. to be cancelled. The BBBofC subsequently banned Benn, who has since twice fought in nontitle bouts.
Benn denies he knowingly took a banned substance. He was first suspended from boxing in March 2023 due to two failed drugs tests, after he tested positive for clomiphene, a female fertility drug that is banned inside and outside competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Hearn said he hopes to be able to make a big fight for Benn and added that the 27-year-old is the biggest draw on British shores outside of heavyweights Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
If Benn is able to get the all clear to box again, Benn vs. Eubank could return at a London venue for next year, either at the indoor O2 or at the outdoor Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Hearn told a call with UK boxing writers: "Conor Benn's return is going to be massive because when you talk about profile, outside AJ [Joshua] and Fury, Conor Benn's profile is bigger than all of them.
"He's in talks with his lawyers, the British Boxing Board of Control, with UKAD.
"We'll know more early October how that will play out. We've had a lot of questions asking why doesn't he just take a two-year ban -- the test was in June 2022.
"But to Conor's detriment he's never wanted to concede a ban because he believes in his innocence. He's never wanted to do a deal, and it has cost him time.
"I'm hoping now they will have some sensible conversations because it's been over two years since this happened.
"We want a date because it's really difficult to plan. If there's a resolution, I can book the fight and get it made. The frustration for us is not knowing, and that's what we hope will come to an end during the next months or so."
Benn's and Eubank's fathers had two huge fights in the UK in 1990 and 1993 at middleweight and super middleweight, respectively.
Hearn added: "Without any question he could sell out Wembley, especially against Eubank. When his fight against Eubank gets announced and the build-up begins, it's an absolute monster. It's the fastest-selling event we had had at the O2, and that was before all the nonsense.
"Our instructions from Conor are clear -- make the biggest fight possible. That fight is Eubank. When this is resolved, he will be involved in the biggest possible fight we can get him.
"There haven't been any fighters that can sell out Wembley or Spurs outside Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury. But I do think Conor Benn vs. Chris Eubank Jr. sells out Spurs, no problem. Wembley is a big number, but with the right card..."
Benn, who is based in Essex, last won a 12-round points decision over Peter Dobson in Las Vegas, in February 2024, and last boxed on British soil in April 2022. Eubank, who is 34 and has a record of 33-3, with 24 KOs, has not fought for over a year and is due to box Kamil Szeremeta in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 12.
Naoya Inoue retained his undisputed junior featherweight championship with a seventh-round TKO victory over TJ Doheny on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) was a staggering -6500 favorite, per ESPN BET, to keep his four 122-pound titles. Doheny (26-5, 20 KOs) was more than game, but he succumbed 16 seconds into Round 7 following a barrage of body punches from Inoue.
Doheny, a 37-year-old Irishman fighting out of Australia, stopped the action and immediately grabbed his lower back with his right glove. The referee halted the bout, and afterward Doheny needed assistance from two team members to walk to the locker room.
"I know boxing is not easy, so I really wanted to slow it down, one [round] at a time, giving my opponent damage," Inoue, ESPN's No. 3 pound-for-pound boxer, said through an interpreter. "I am still [a work] in progress. ... I want to celebrate how TJ Doheny brought the fight."
Inoue's co-promoter, Top Rank's Bob Arum, said "The Monster" would return to Tokyo for the third defense of his undisputed championship at the end of the year. After that, Inoue will headline in Las Vegas "for a big celebration," per Arum.
The last seven fights for the 31-year-old Inoue have taken place in Japan, where he's a major star. His last stateside fight was in June 2021.
Inoue was more methodical than usual. He picked his spots, electing to target Doheny's body with sharp right hands and left hooks to the liver.
Doheny held his ground through five rounds, using feints to set up a lead left hand from the southpaw position and the occasional right hook. He also found success with body shots preceded with a jab, particularly in Round 3, his best of the fight.
The fight was Doheny's fourth consecutive in Japan; he entered the ring 4-0 in the nation (and No. 9 in ESPN's 122-pound rankings). The former titleholder, however, had never faced a boxer the caliber of Inoue, a future Hall of Famer.
By Round 6, Inoue took control of the fight. He punctuated the round with a series of stinging body shots that Doheny (with his face badly marked up) seemingly never recovered from.
The win was Inoue's ninth consecutive via KO/TKO.
It's undecided whom Inoue will face next, but it's likely to come against one of two mandatory challengers: Australia's Sam Goodman or Uzbekistan's Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
Whomever he fights, Inoue will compete at 122 pounds for a fifth consecutive time ahead of a potential jump to featherweight next year.
The 15 most influential people in boxing, MMA and wrestling
Many of the most powerful figures in the fight game will converge on Las Vegas this week for a rare offering, one that features boxing's top star, Canelo Alvarez, and the first live sporting event at the revolutionary Sphere with UFC 306.
Canelo's unified super middleweight championship defense vs. long-odds underdog Edgar Berlanga and Sean O'Malley's UFC bantamweight title fight against Merab Dvalishvili will coincide Saturday evening, an unusual conflict of high-profile combat sports events in Las Vegas.
And with it, the fight game's power players will all be represented in person between both events. There's Turki Alalshikh, whose lucrative Riyadh Season sponsorship helped make it possible for Dana White and the UFC to hold an event at the exorbitantly priced Sphere. White said the cost of the immersive venue has topped $20 million. It's the first pay-per-view event from White that isn't simply billed as UFC followed by a numeral.
This time, it's Riyadh Season Noche UFC, in what's being promoted as a celebration of Mexico and its storied fighting history. But Mexico's biggest sporting star will be in the ring two miles away.
That's where Alvarez will showcase his influence again as he packs T-Mobile Arena for a fight against Berlanga. They'll headline one of boxing's storied holidays: Mexican Independence Day weekend, a slot long reserved for the sport's top attraction.
There's Alalshikh and White cageside in Las Vegas while boxing power broker Al Haymon's PBC will deliver Alvarez's fight at the MGM-managed property. Battle lines are drawn.
"Canelo's one of those guys that I respect and hey, good on Haymon," White told ESPN in late July. "Haymon snatched that date right away from me."
Adding to the stakes is the dissonance between Alvarez and Alalshikh. Alalshikh has stated his interest numerous times in making a Canelo-Terence Crawford fight in February, perhaps the biggest fight in all of boxing.
"We will eat him," Alalshikh told ESPN in late July about his event competing with Canelo's.
"I'm not asking for the fight or wanting to do the fight or anything like that," Alvarez told Fight Hub TV. "Maybe [Alalshikh] took it personally because it wasn't the right time to talk about it and that's what I said, but at the end of the day, that's not my problem."
With some of the biggest names going head-to-head on Saturday night in Las Vegas, who's pulling the strings in the fight game? ESPN spoke to 30-plus industry power players -- fighters, promoters, executives, lawyers, managers and media -- to help determine who currently holds all the influence across boxing, MMA and pro wrestling and how they wield it.
We used the following methodology that's ranked by order of importance:
• Autonomy: ability to influence one's sport with unilateral decision-making power
• Money: access to funds to support deal-making
• Name recognition: ability to amplify one's message and influence the marketplace
• Influence: ability to shift the landscape based on presence alone
15. Bob Arum | Top Rank founder
The 93-year-old Hall of Fame promoter still travels the globe as the figurehead of Top Rank. While he has delegated much of the day-to-day operations to his stepson and company president, Todd duBoef, he remains the central figure at the company and in the media. With its ESPN deal running until next summer (negotiated in 2018 by Nick Khan while at CAA), Arum still has the largest domestic boxing media rights deal along with a number of top prospects on his roster. In years past, when promoting the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao, Arum would have landed far higher on the list. But at the moment, the biggest names on the roster (Tyson Fury and Naoya Inoue) are partnerships with foreign promoters where Top Rank licenses international events for U.S. television. Neither has fought in the U.S. since 2021.
14. Oscar De La Hoya | Golden Boy Promotions founder
The former face of boxing remains a celebrity in his post-fighting days as a promoter, and he uses that name recognition to amplify his events. De La Hoya was a one-of-one megastar who produced numerous million-PPV-buy boxing matches by fighting the best opponents boxing could offer, and he has used that experience to deliver some big-time fights as a promoter. Golden Boy promotes one of the sport's top stars, Ryan Garcia, who crossed that million-PPV plateau last year in a fight against Gervonta "Tank" Davis. De La Hoya also helped build Canelo into a star, though the Golden Boy's influence waned when Alvarez left the promotion in 2018. Currently, Golden Boy boasts a media-rights deal with DAZN that pays around $18 million annually.
13. Jake and Logan Paul | Jake: Boxer/promoter | Logan: WWE wrestler
Jake and his older brother Logan have already far exceeded what anyone thought was possible in the fight game. What started as a novelty for Jake has turned into serious business as he approaches his Nov. 15 megaevent with Mike Tyson, Netflix's first foray into boxing. Jake has now boxed 11 times professionally, knocking out a slew of recognizable former UFC fighters in the process. He hopes to win a cruiserweight world title in 2025, and his promotional company MVP (led by former UFC CFO Nakisa Bidarian) has a busy slate of fights on DAZN (women's star Amanda Serrano is among its fighters.) Logan stars in the WWE, where he has wowed with his athleticism and quick grasp of the art form. He has starred in several high-profile matches and had a lengthy run as U.S. champion. Logan's Prime drink is the first ring-mat sponsor in WWE history and also boasts a partnership with the UFC. His 2021 exhibition boxing match with Mayweather generated approximately 1 million PPV buys.
12. Tony Khan | AEW founder
The son of Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham F.C. owner Shad Khan, Tony established the clear No. 2 wrestling promotion in the world, providing fans an alternative to WWE that focuses on the technical aspects of the art. Armed with a media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, AEW quickly found success after its launch in 2019. Still, its popularity pales in comparison to WWE's; AEW's TV ratings have dipped after top stars Cody Rhodes and CM Punk returned to WWE in recent years as Levesque took charge of WWE's creative. Khan, who also oversees AEW's creative team, is outspoken on social media, where he has fanned the flames of controversy within wrestling, particularly in regards to Punk's departure from the promotion.
11. Faisal Bafarat/Dr. Rakan Hussain Alharthy | GEA/Sela Company
Bafarat is involved in Saudi Arabia's lucrative business with WWE, a partnership that started in 2018 and paved the way for boxing and MMA in the Kingdom. Alalshikh struck the 10-year deal reportedly worth around $100 million annually for the WWE that delivers multiple Premium Live Events to Saudi Arabia each year, but Bafarat is across the relationship on a day-to-day basis and has helped to expand the partnership. That includes the first-ever WWE "Raw" in Saudi Arabia in November, which will follow the annual Crown Jewel event. In addition, there are efforts underway to bring one of WWE's tentpole events to Saudi Arabia in the near future. Alharthy, meanwhile, is involved in all of Saudi Arabia's lucrative business with Riyadh Season boxing and UFC events with his Sela Company team, the executive arm of GEA. Alharthy and the Sela team handle contracts for Riyadh Season events and he is instrumental in the business dealings with venues, promoters, fighters, etc. He's often seen facing off fighters and is trusted by Alalshikh to strike deals that further commercialize Riyadh Season.
10. Al Haymon | Premier Boxing Champions founder
The Harvard man has run boxing for years with a roster of nearly 100 fighters. Lately, that power has waned with the expiration of PBC's media rights deal with Fox alongside longtime broadcast partner Showtime Sports' exit from boxing. PBC's talent pool isn't what it once was either, as many fighters have aged out, led by former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Despite being rarely seen in public, Haymon still wields considerable influence in boxing through his partnerships with Alvarez and "Tank" Davis supported by a roster that has depth.
"Al Haymon is still one of the most influential people in boxing," boxing manager Keith Connolly told ESPN. "A lot of people tried to count him out over the last couple of years and as usual, he proved them wrong by putting together some of the biggest pay-per-view fights of the last year-and-a-half. Al will always be a powerhouse in the sport until he decides to retire from boxing."
Canelo will headline a PBC PPV for the third consecutive fight on Saturday, while Haymon helped build Davis into a top American boxing star, a fighter who still competes under the PBC banner. PBC is in the first year of a new TV partnership with Amazon's Prime Video.
"He has always been a genius as far as maximizing what high-level boxers can make over the course of their careers," Connolly said. "That's his gift."
9. Eddie Hearn | Matchroom Sport chairman
Hearn revolutionized boxing in the U.K., bringing marquee events to England with Anthony Joshua, whom he helped build into a star after Joshua's Olympic super heavyweight gold medal win in 2012. As heavyweight champion, Joshua has sold out Wembley Stadium in London and Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, with Hearn at the controls as the promoter.
"I appreciate Eddie and the business he has built with Barry [Hearn] and the rest of the team," Joshua told ESPN. "Being a part of the Matchroom family has been a real blessing for me and my own family. From where we began to where we are now, the journey has been phenomenal. That's not just for me personally, but all the fighters he works with."
Hearn has made waves in the U.S., too, becoming the first British promoter to deliver a robust schedule stateside, and welcoming DAZN into the boxing landscape when they entered the U.S. market in 2018. Three years later, DAZN replaced Sky Sports as the top provider of fights in the U.K. after it struck another deal with Hearn and Matchroom. With Hearn's considerable following and media presence, particularly in the U.K., he's able to effectively drive narrative.
"I don't know many people who have the work ethic and integrity Eddie has, he will be in the game for many many years to come doing massive things," Joshua added.
8. Hunter Campbell | UFC chief business officer
Campbell is instrumental in crafting UFC's business deals and putting together the company's PPV fights alongside White. White trusts the attorney to do it all for UFC on the business side, including dealing with 700-plus fighters and their representation with contracts and handling all top-level legal affairs.
"We've always had a lawyer involved on the fight side of things because obviously there's contractual issues ... and no one has ever done it as good as Hunter has," White told Sports Business Journal about Campbell. "He's super passionate about the sport, he's super passionate about fighting and he's a f---ing great lawyer."
He can always be seen cageside alongside White, and if anyone wants to make something happen with the UFC, they need to go through Campbell, too. He's the man pulling the strings behind the scenes while White is out front and center.
7. Conor McGregor | Top MMA star
McGregor hasn't stepped into the Octagon since July 2021, but he remains a force in the fight game capable of generating major business anytime he's ready to fight again. As the UFC enters a media rights negotiation next year, McGregor's presence looms large. Any network ready to enter business with White and the UFC surely will inquire about one of the top stars in combat sports, a man who has crossed over into pop culture. He starred in the blockbuster reboot of "Roadhouse" alongside actor Jake Gyllenhaal. And there's also McGregor's 2017 boxing match with Mayweather, which produced a staggering 4.3 million PPV buys.
"Conor is capable of doing anything, man," White told ESPN earlier this summer. "He knows what he's doing. He knows what he wants to do. He's very calculated in what he does."
Before he broke his toe, McGregor was slated to return against Michael Chandler this summer, and his star power remains so bright that Chandler has waited around for a rescheduled date. Similar to Canelo, McGregor transcends the sport to the extent that he has branched out into other business ventures. He and his partners sold a majority share in Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey for approximately $600 million in April 2021. Earlier this year, McGregor became a part-owner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
6. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson | Top pro wrestling star; TKO board of directors
One of the top attractions in Hollywood, The Rock made his return to WWE in-ring action this year with an incredible comeback after 11 years out of the ring. There was no doubt Johnson possessed the charisma and promo skills to drive the top storyline leading into WrestleMania XL, but there was doubt about his in-ring ability one month shy of his 52nd birthday. He exceeded expectations and is primed for another WrestleMania run next year. The Rock's return resulted in record attendance and TV ratings during his 12 TV appearances in 2024, including the top U.S. gate in the history of "Raw."
"Dwayne is a textbook example of the hard work and determination required to become a true multi-hyphenate," Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor and TKO, told ESPN. "In fact, he wrote the playbook for so many who have come up after him: athletes and entertainers alike."
Johnson is now on the board of TKO, part of a deal where he acquired the rights to his famed "The Rock" moniker. That board seat gives him influence in shaping both WWE and the UFC, and the new role was a key part of his "Final Boss" persona during the lead-up to WrestleMania.
"Dwayne translated his early success in the ring into success as an actor, film producer, and entrepreneur, and now he's come full circle as a member of our TKO board," Emanuel said.
5. Paul "Triple H" Levesque | WWE chief content officer
Since the inception of the then-WWF in 1982, Vince McMahon was in charge of the company's creative direction, crafting storylines and deciding which wrestlers to get behind. Now it's Levesque, a top star during his WWE in-ring run from 1995 to 2022, who was well-regarded for his wrestling mind and storytelling ability. Levesque (who's married to McMahon's daughter, Stephanie) is effectively the face of WWE, well-liked by fans and wrestlers alike for his improved product and innovative creative direction that best utilizes the unique skill sets and personalities of performers.
"Triple H in the ring had world-champion instincts long before he ever was one," WWE champion Cody Rhodes told ESPN. "He applies those instincts expertly today as chief content officer. He was also amongst a handful of players ahead of the curve in terms of evolving the sport which he showcased with the NXT black-and-gold era."
Levesque has autonomy over WWE's storylines (supported by his writing team) and with it his performance is directly tied to the success of the business. The Bloodline storyline featuring Roman Reigns, The Rock and the long lineage of Samoan wrestlers has reenergized the roster and fan base.
"When the moment came for him to take over with Nick Khan and lead the ship creatively, he helped guide WWE to massive television ratings and social engagement increases," Rhodes said. "I take the field for him with immense pride."
4. Canelo Alvarez | Top boxing star
Alvarez is the lone athlete in the fight game who forces others to wait around for him in hopes of landing a life-changing payday, often in the eight figures. Canelo calls shots that fellow stars like McGregor can't due to their contractual limitations. Anytime Alvarez fights it's a marquee event, pulling hundreds of thousands of PPV buys and eight figures at the gate. The all-time great boxer's career is winding down at 34, but his star power hasn't waned. He's crossed the million-PPV plateau four times and has earned hundreds of millions of dollars during his career. He's an icon in Mexico with business ventures ranging from alcoholic drinks, gas stations and healthcare programs. As a promotional free agent and the top boxing draw in the U.S., Alvarez wields considerable power as he picks and chooses whom he will fight and what company will promote his events.
"In any sport, it's only the biggest of stars who can call their own shots," Hall of Fame boxing promoter Lou DiBella told ESPN. "Canelo has been that guy for a long time in boxing and he has maximized his autonomy and ability to jump around where the money is greatest. In the 'Dodge City of sports,' you have to be a smart guy, with a good lawyer, to do that."
When he left Oscar De La Hoya and DAZN well before the expiration of his 11-fight, $365 million deal in November 2020, it seriously damaged both parties. Alvarez drove hundreds of thousands of subscribers to DAZN while Golden Boy lost out on millions in rights fees from the streaming service along with other revenues related to his fights.
"What makes Canelo so different is that he's used his leverage smartly, without many of the missteps that I've watched other stars make forever since my HBO days," DiBella said. "He's made a fortune, built a historic résumé, stayed healthy, jumped between platforms, and burnt virtually no bridges. That's f---ing good use of star power in combat sports!"
3. Nick Khan | WWE president; TKO board of directors
Khan was once the longtime powerful agent and co-head of TV at Creative Artists Agency, where he represented many of the top broadcast talents and negotiated media rights megadeals for the SEC, Top Rank Boxing and WWE. He joined WWE in 2020 and helped quickly grow the business (and took over as the No. 1 when McMahon exited the company earlier this year). Khan was instrumental in the development of an extensive partnership with Fanatics, the WWE signing lucrative TV deals with Netflix ($5 billion over 10 years) and NBC Universal ($1.4 billion over five years), and expanding the promotion's sponsorship portfolio.
"Nick Khan is a unique force in the sports and entertainment world," Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson told ESPN. "Excellent leader, strong business acumen and one of the visionary strategists in the game."
WWE has enjoyed record-setting revenue and profitability under Khan's leadership. He spearheaded WWE's global expansion, gobbling up government subsidies for premium live events that formerly were centered stateside (eight will take place outside the U.S. this year). Khan was also instrumental in navigating WWE's merger with UFC to form TKO Group where he sits on the board of directors. Before Khan became an agent, he managed Hall of Fame boxers Pacquiao and James Toney.
"He's redefined WWE's global presence and has set new benchmarks in the industry across all verticals. Nick's become a close and trusted consigliere to me as well as being an absolute killer --- the kind you want in the foxhole with you," Johnson said.
2. Dana White | UFC president
White built UFC into an empire after he took the reins in 2001, bringing MMA into the mainstream with his ability to promote and grow the sport around the globe. A sport that was once banned in New York now delivers a yearly major event at Madison Square Garden and monthly PPVs on ESPN+, a testament to White's selling power. The UFC is a multibillion-dollar company whose brand is bigger than any one fighter, and White remains incredibly hands-on in shaping and fine-tuning his product.
"Dana White is a force of nature," Mark Shapiro, president and COO of Endeavor and TKO, told ESPN. "His passion and fearlessness are undeniable."
While boxing is splintered and unorganized, White's UFC is a behemoth surrounded by major sponsors and a lucrative media rights deal. White also played a key role in the multibillion-dollar merger with WWE to form TKO under Endeavor. White seemingly has accomplished everything possible with the UFC, and the only question now is how much longer he remains in his current role before moving on to a new challenge.
"When you consider the fact that UFC is only 30 years old, his work is even more remarkable: by sheer grit and determination, he has turned what was largely a pariah in the sports industry just a few years ago into a global juggernaut that has other majors taking notes," Shapiro said.
1. Turki Alalshikh | Chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority
Since coming to the worldwide sporting public eye in 2023, Alalshikh has quickly and swiftly coalesced immense power throughout boxing, MMA and pro wrestling, utilizing Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund to back lucrative entries into each. His influence is strongest in boxing, where he single-handedly revitalized the heavyweight division with the money (and promotion) necessary to make and commercialize top events in the sport's glamor division. The crown jewel of his efforts was May's Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury undisputed championship fight that proved too costly and problematic to finalize before he stepped in. He has stacked the undercards of his Riyadh Season events -- a festival of entertainment acts used to commercialize Saudi Arabia -- eschewing the traditional boxing model. And he has now stepped outside Saudi Arabia to deliver big-time boxing; Alalshikh brought Crawford to Los Angeles last month in an event that also included an Eminem concert. Later this month, he'll bring a heavyweight title fight between Joshua and Daniel Dubois that will reportedly attract 95,000-plus fans at London's Wembley Stadium.
"Boxing was going downhill before Turki and Riyadh Season became involved," Crawford told ESPN. "The sport had lost imagination. But he's brought back big fights on a regular basis and given them the promotion they deserve. And it's not about the money; Turki is succeeding because he treats boxers like friends and partners, not enemies to be exploited. Some are intimidated by his efforts. ... He is here to fix the greatest sport in the world. And he will do it."
There's also the hefty sponsorship of Saturday's UFC Sphere event (along with the debut of UFC in Saudi Arabia this past summer with plans for another next year). Alalashikh was also instrumental in luring major WWE events multiple times a year to Saudi Arabia as part of a 10-year deal signed in 2018.
