‘It took a lot of money’: the Saudi boxing juggernaut comes to Times Square

When an irresistible force (Saudi Arabia's boxing program) met an immovable object (the New York Police Department), the immovable object prevailed

On 2 May, Turki al-Sheikh (chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority and the architect of his country's Riyadh Season boxing program) planted a flag in Times Square with a fight card styled FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves".

Fatal Fury is a combat video game. The Times Square event was presented by SNK Corporation (the game's developer) and The Ring (now owned by Al-Sheikh) with Golden Boy (Oscar De La Hoya's promotional company) as the lead promoter. Given the dangers inherent in boxing, Fatal Fury" is a questionable name for a fight card. But SNK underwrote much of the cost of the promotion and was its primary sponsor.