While the promoters that had been working with the Saudi businessman were not openly speaking with any kind of concern, and the Boxing organisations were doing the same, most fans of the sport could have seen something like this developing from a mile away.
We have already seen with the LIV and PGA split in the world of Golf that a power grab of a sport is something that the Saudi authorities are keen on doing, no matter what anyone else thinks. They might be willing to share for a while, but ultimately they want to run things their own way and the likes of Eddie Hearn, Oscar De La Hoya and Frank Warren mean little, even if they helped usher in this new era.
There is still some time before TKO can really make the plays they want to make, but all signs point to Canelo vs Terence Crawford being under their promotional banner and this is not the best of news for the others.
Turki Alalshikh has made his feelings known by talking about 'crushing' others and it may be the time when the promoters working with him look to try and see if they can begin to get back to organising fights between themselves.
Of course the problem is that Alalshikh and the Saudis have shown how much money can be made by working with them and not going back to the way Boxing was before and the next couple of years are going to be very interesting to see how this sport looks and is being operated.
It is not Riyadh Season organising the cards this weekend, but Queensberry are in the final couple of shows under their old broadcasting contract before becoming the latest to move to DAZN.
There is also a Matchroom card headlined by a fighter looking to get back towards World honours having had a setback in 2024.
Nick Ball vs TJ Doheny
After impressing on a couple of shows in Saudi Arabia, Nick Ball has to be thinking that a 'monster' fight with Naoya Inoue is set to be in his future.
However, it would be a mistake to focus a career on a Super Fight that may or may not ever happen and any defeat now could make it very difficult for Nick Ball to be in a position to welcome Inoue to the Featherweight Division.
He doesn't look like someone who will look too far ahead and the WBA World Champion looks like he is only focused on doing a job on TJ Doheny.
Four losses in six fights looked to be seeing TJ Doheny's career wind down, but he decided to head to Japan and rejuvenated his career by upsetting three home fighters in a row.
This actually gave Doheny the opportunity to get in the ring with Naoya Inoue and a back injury forced a withdrawal in the Seventh Round, although the momentum of the fight was firmly in the direction of the unbeaten pound for pound superstar.
Moving up in weight and having another World Title shot is a huge bonus for TJ Doheny, but this does feel like a fight that has been made to have Nick Ball try and 'beat' Inoue by finishing off the veteran a little more quickly.
In saying that, it won't be easy to do that against a grizzled veteran who will use all of his know-how to get through the Rounds and patience may be the key to the night.
TJ Doheny has offered a back injury as the reason he was Stopped for the first time in that bout with Inoue at Super-Bantamweight, and so you have to think he can at least stay out of danger for a while.
Ultimately Nick Ball has shown his power carries and he may begin to break down and wear down this opponent and the likelihood is he can secure a 'proper' Stoppage in the second half of this contest.
Another home hope is looking to move past a veteran and just show off his potential on the undercard in Liverpool when Andrew Cain takes on Charlie Edwards.
An injury was blamed for Cain's only defeat, but he has bounced back with three wins in a row and all before the Sixth Round.
The hope is that Charlie Edwards will offer more resistance, although his career stalled after the No Contest against Julio Cesar Martinez back in 2019.
Charlie Edwards did win the European Bantamweight Title in his last outing, but Andrew Cain looks a considerable step up from Thomas Essomba and the feeling is that Liverpudlian can break down Edwards and force a second half Stoppage of his own.
There are a number of fighters looking to earn a spark in their careers fighting in Orlando and the majority are pretty happy to do that.
One who is perhaps less than impressed is Edgar Berlanga who feels he should have been headlining, but who is in his final fight under the Matchroom promotional banner.
Eddie Hearn has made it clear that his priority is not for a fighter who is not extending with him, even after arranging the Canelo Alvarez fight, and that is fair enough.
Edgar Berlanga came in over weight, which is not a good look, but he should have far too much for his compatriot Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz.
The latter is unbeaten and earned a couple of Stoppage wins in 2024, but he had not fought for ten years before that and was down in the First Round in his last bout in June.
Fighting at this kind of level feels a step too far for Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz as long as Edgar Berlanga is showing any kind of focus.
It might not be the fight he wanted or expected, but it is an opportunity for Edgar Berlanga to impress and earn a second Stoppage in eight fights. There have been times when Berlanga feels like he is going through the motions and he is not nearly as good as he thinks he is, but Gonzalez-Ortiz is there to be beaten and beaten well and that is what the outcome should be.
MY PICKS: Nick Ball to Win Between 7-12 @ 2.75 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Andrew Cain to Win Between 7-12 @ 3.10 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Edgar Berlanga to Win Between 1-5 @ 1.80 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Boxing 2025: 9-29, - 18.61 Units (46 Units Staked, - 40.46% Yield)
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