The sport’s most aggressive move has been given a “Monster” signature.
A financial agreement has been reached which will see Naoya Inoue serve as an ambassador for the Riyadh Season boxing series. News of the signing was confirmed by both sides on Monday.
“With Riyadh Season Ambassador, boxing legend Naoya Inoue,” Turki Alalshikh, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman, posted on X. “Big surprises coming soon.”
With Riyadh Season Ambassador.. The boxing legend Naoya Inoue ❤️
Big surprises coming soon 🔥🇸🇦#Riyadh Season#BigTime pic.twitter.com/7hUmVr2XbK
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) November 4, 2024
Details of the deal have not been disclosed as it goes to publication, although it is expected to be well into eight figures. Representatives for the group declined to comment to The Ring, other than to confirm “big news coming” in the next few days.
With the signing of Inoue (28-0, 25 knockouts), the Riyadh season circuit now boasts The Ring’s top five pound-for-pound fighters. Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs), Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) and Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) all appeared in the series 2024 ,
Inoue’s next fight was already locked in before this deal.
The four-division champion and reigning RING 122-pound king will face Australia’s Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) on December 24 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo. However, the alliance now gives the Riyadh Season group a foothold in the Asian market.
Inoue has long served as Japan’s top attraction — and by far its best fighter. The reigning 2023 Fighter of the Year is proud to serve this role alongside Alalshikh and his group.
“We have signed a sponsorship contract with Riyadh Season,” Inoue confirmed late Monday. “I am very happy that I was able to break down the class barrier and sign such a big contract. I believe that signing this contract now, as I approach the latter half of my career, is an important first step that will accelerate the rest of my boxing career.
“From now on, every game will be a very important one, so please keep supporting us! Until now every game has been a very important one, but from now on it will be even more important.”
We recently signed a sponsorship agreement with “Riyadh Season”, a project directly under the Saudi Arabian government.
I am very happy that I was able to break down the class barrier and sign such a big contract. … pic.twitter.com/KWdEnUeod9
— Naoya Inoue (@naoyainoue_410) November 5, 2024
