Turki Alalshikh of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season has announced a sponsorship union with Japan’s undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue that has a reported value of $19 million.
Details of whether it will take some Inoue fights to Saudi Arabia, the U.S. or elsewhere is speculation for now, with some even close to Inoue unsure how the connection will shape Inoue’s future fight schedule.
Inoue will continue in the 122-pound division for a Christmas Eve defense in Tokyo against Sam Goodman and there’s been talk of an April fight in Las Vegas against countryman and bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani.
As Alalshikh has made undisputed title fights in the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions, the potential for major fights in this arrangement is stark.
Some candidates in that scenario could include junior bantamweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, featherweight title fights and perhaps mega-bouts up at lightweight.
Fights at 135lbs bouts might be a bridge too far, but Alalshikh has sought before to create “fantasy” fights, including his push for a bout between four-division champions Canelo Alvarez (168lbs) and Terence Crawford (154lbs).
The expectation may be that Inoue can take the Riyadh Season ambassador sponsorship role and expand the reach by fighting in a market like China, where Alalshikh has previously said he wants to go in the near future.
