Dana White and his boxing venture are going to roll out with a big bang. Alongside Riyadh Season, the team will promote the once-in-a-lifetime mega showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford. It’s an ambitious step for a promotion that just came some time ago. But it doesn’t mean their energy will be entirely focused on a single project – the biggest boxing fight of the modern era.

It looks like ‘TKO Boxing’ – more on that name – has been burning midnight oil to effect some major changes. One of those, the proposal to amend the Muhammad Ali Act, has already gained considerable attention. Enacted in 2000, the federal law protects the rights and welfare of professional boxers. But that’s not all. Reports suggest the boxing promotion, now widely referred to as ‘TKO Boxing,’ may foresee a change in name as well.

What’s in a Name? There is…a lot

Speaking about the Canelo-Crawford card, Mark Shapiro, the president of TKO Holdings, the parent group that owns both UFC and WWE, spilled a few beans on their latest initiatives. Sharing their vision and strategy for the next five years, Shapiro said, “We’re expecting with the new boxing organization to put on an average of, call it, 12 cards a year for each of the next five years.” They envision up to 4 ‘Super Fights’ every year. The Allegiant Stadium clash between Canelo and Crawford forms a part of that grand plan. So Shapiro added, “I should mention, it’s not going to be called TKO Boxing. We’ll be unveiling our name for our business fairly soon here, but it will not be TKO Boxing.”

Basically, the company is currently using ‘TKO Boxing’ as a placeholder while it finishes branding and legal setup. TKO Group Holdings already includes UFC and WWE. So when it comes to brand clarity, keeping the new boxing entity under the same name could potentially cause confusion. “Those are two separate businesses,” Shapiro emphasized.

The super fight series, like Canelo vs. Crawford, is a Saudi-funded collaboration. The 12-card-per-year boxing promotion is its own entity with separate media rights, deals, and branding. “The Saudis are funding what would be these super fight cards. We’ll work with them on media rights deals, and it’s like a commission. We’ll work with them on global partnerships and ticketing. We’ll handle the production,” Shapiro said.

So, the upcoming name will potentially reflect this new, distinct boxing promotion. Not a division of UFC or WWE, even though TKO oversees it all.

Changes galore, but doubts persist for Dana White’s new venture

The major update follows the reports that revealed TKO requesting ‘an amendment change’ to the Muhammad Ali Act. According to Erik Magraken, a combat sport regulatory lawyer with ‘CombatSportsLaw.com,‘ Michael Mazzulli, president of the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC), had reportedly shared the news with regulators through an email. It read, “Presently the UFC/TKO is requesting an amendment change to the Muhammad Ali Act. The board of directors is working with them to make sure the ABC is still part of the federal law.”

Especially in light of the recent antitrust case, where UFC reportedly concluded a $375 million settlement that was brought over by former fighters, the move may attract significant scrutiny. Details of the proposed changes are currently unknown. So there could be concerns. If the amendment is passed, will there be a rollback of athlete protections under the Ali Act?

The new boxing promotion’s supposed fighter payouts have already been doing the rounds. With reported plans to conduct boxing fights in the lines of UFC events, fans will have to tune in as more developments emerge.

What’s your take? Do you think under Dana White’s expertise, Canelo-Crawford could emerge a stupendous success?