Saudi Arabian boxing chief Turki Alalshikh has undoubtedly revolutionised the sport over the past few years, investing heavily to put together the biggest fights possible under the Riyadh Season banner.
Turki Alalshikh Reads Scorecards to Hamzah Sheeraz Mid-Fight
A self-confessed hardcore boxing fan, Alalshikh rarely misses a moment of the action from his ringside seat at shows.
However, some fans feel his involvement went a step too far on Saturday night, when he appeared to reveal the judges’ scorecards to Hamzah Sheeraz mid-way through his WBC middleweight title fight with Carlos Adames.
Footage has now emerged on social media showing Alalshikh making his way over to Sheeraz’s corner to inform him that he was losing by two rounds in the latter stages of the contest. At one point, the Brit even appears to turn his head towards Alalshikh to acknowledge what he is saying.
Turki Alalsheikh Controversially Spoke to Hamzah Sheeraz During World Title Fight
Alalshikh informed the Brit he was losing the bout
As an official involved in the promotion of the event, Alalshikh is – theoretically – supposed to stay neutral. While it’s not clear whether the Saudi power broker knew the actual score or was simply trying to encourage Sheeraz, his presence in the fighter’s corner is a terrible look for the sport – as a number of fans pointed out on social media, with some calling his involvement “corruption” and pleading with the WBC to investigate the matter.
“This guy thinks he can run boxing just because of his money.” one user declared. Another added, “Honestly, I think this is a disgrace. He shouldn’t be doing that, he’s meant to be neutral.”
A further comment read: “This totally out of order. No one should be allowed to see the judges’ scorecards,” while another stated: “Boxing has always been a dirty sport!”
Despite the level of outrage towards the footage, some comments did attempt to defend Alalshikh.
“We understand the rules behind not being able to do this, but is it really THAT BAD of a thing to let the guys know the scoring in real time? Might actually result in some better endings.” one fan argued. They were backed up by another, who wrote: “I wish every fighter knew the scorecard so they know what they have to do to win.”
| Hamzah Sheeraz’s professional boxing record (as at 23/02/2025) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 22 fights | 21 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 17 | 0 |
| By decision | 4 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
The bout ended up going the full 12 rounds, with the scores of the three ringside judges being wildly different from one another. One had the fight 118-110 for Adames, while a second scored the contest 115-114 for Sheeraz. The third and final judge saw the fight 114-114, meaning that the clash was scored a majority draw.
As a result, Adames retained his championship and Sheeraz kept his undefeated record. An AI judge also scored the contest (unofficially) and had it 115-113 in favour of Adames. A rematch between the pair is likely given the controversial result. It remains to be seen whether Alalshikh will get quite so close to the action if a second fight happens.
