Turki Alalshikh has offered to fly Simon Jordan over to Saudi Arabia for this weekend’s Queensberry vs Matchroom card.

The talkSPORT host was barred from attending Tyson Fury’s recent fights in Saudi Arabia by ‘The Gypsy King’ over comments made following the collapse of his contest with Oleksandr Usyk in early 2023.

Turki Alalshikh is the key influential figure behind staging boxing in Saudi Arabia
4

Turki Alalshikh is the key influential figure behind staging boxing in Saudi ArabiaCredit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom

Turki Alalshikh called into talkSPORT on Wednesday afternoon to speak to Simon Jordan and Jim White
4

Turki Alalshikh called into talkSPORT on Wednesday afternoon to speak to Simon Jordan and Jim WhiteCredit: talksport
But Saudi boxing chief Alalshikh insists Jordan, co-host Jim White and talkSPORT are welcome to the Kingdom any time.

“I asked my team to invite talkSPORT to the 5vs5 event, especially you and Simon but they tell me that Simon is on vacation in America,” Alalshikh told White and Jordan on talkSPORT on Wednesday afternoon.

Promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren have selected five fighters each to go head-to-head this weekend in the Middle East to determine who has the better roster.

The unprecedented tournament is headlined by the return of Deontay Wilder against Zhilei Zhang and is accompanied by several exciting match ups, including Daniel Dubois vs Filip Hrgovic, Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, Hamzah Sheeraz vs Ammo Williams and Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards.

Jordan may not be able to attend the event, but the former Crystal Palace chairman was pleased to hear there was no issue between boxing decision makers in Saudi Arabia and talkSPORT.

Jordan responded: “I’m very pleased to hear that, Turki, because from our point of view, we’ve heard a lot of things about the response to some of the observations that we’ve made.

“And it’s always interesting to hear first hand from the person. I think lots of the things you’re doing in the sport are very interesting and of course, when you challenge the orthodoxy, people will push back against it.

“But I’m fascinated with what you’re doing, and your development and your format creation – and you’re making the fights happen.”

Tyson Fury has barred Simon Jordan from attending his fights due to a series of comments made by the talkSPORT host that he took exception to
4

Tyson Fury has barred Simon Jordan from attending his fights due to a series of comments made by the talkSPORT host that he took exception toCredit: GETTY
Jordan has been full of praise for Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the sport and their ability to make the big fights happen.

However, he has raised concerns about the detrimental affects it could have on British boxing if all the big fights continue to go to Saudi Arabia.

A point Alalshikh rebutted, saying: “Thank you, sir. There is some points I am with you and I can understand. Of course, you want the big fights in your country and I understand this.

“But boxing has a lot of problems and we want you and all the people and the fans to understand what we are doing, for that we invite you to the event.
Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk confirms the date for rematch against Tyson Fury and hints at a potential trilogy fight
“We don’t want to take the place of London or Las Vegas, but we want to put our city on the map and this our right.

“I want you and the honest guy to support us. Sometimes what bothers me is when they talk about sports washing and why it is in Riyadh.