The new owner of The Ring and its properties vowed to deliver the “biggest schedule for the year in boxing history.”

Tuesday’s bombshell announcement was a major step in the right direction.

The Ring has confirmed that Turki Alalshikh is in advanced talks with a who’s who of boxing royalty for fight deals in 2025 and potentially beyond.

A quartet of Ring champions—Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Teofimo Lopez, Naoya Inoue and Jai Opetaia—are included among sixteen fighters in direct talks with Alalshikh, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman and the driving force behind Riyadh Season.

The events will serve as a joint venture between Ring Magazine and SNK Corporation, the developer and publisher of the forthcoming “Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves” fighting game.

“These boxers will be fighting on the world’s first Ring Magazine cards in 2025 which will be named after the upcoming new game,” Ring Magazine announced through its social media channels on Tuesday.

Six fighters from The Ring’s top ten pound for pound list are among those either in direct talks with Alalshikh or already with fights secured in the first half of the year.

Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) and Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) were not mentioned among the sixteen fighters currently in talks with Alalshikh. That’s because The Ring’s No. 4 and No. 5 pound-for-pound fighters are already due to meet in a Feb. 22 rematch, for Beterbiev’s RING and undisputed light heavyweight championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) is already due to defend his Ring/undisputed 122-pound championship against Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) on Jan. 24 in Tokyo. The four-division champ and No. 2 pound-for-pound entrant is currently working on future fights in collaboration with Alalshikh and his group.

Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) dominated headlines and YouTube channels over the weekend with his appearance at The Ring Awards in London. The trip was about a lot more than just attending an event; the four-division and reigning Ring/unified super middleweight king is in the process of working on a multi-fight deal with boxing’s biggest powerbroker.

Among the teased potential fights in Alvarez’s future, a pound-for-pound showdown with fellow four-division titlist Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs). As previously reported by The Ring, both fighters met separately with Alalshikh over the weekend to discuss plans for that fight and others.

Crawford is The Ring’s No. 1 junior middleweight and No. 3 pound-for-pound entrant. The former three-division Ring champ and current WBA 154-pound titlist has expressed a desire to challenge for Alvarez’s 168-pound throne in a ‘legacy fight.’

The Ring and IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) is already a regular fixture on the Riyadh Season circuit. The unbeaten Sydney native is now in talks for a path that could lead to crowning an undisputed cruiserweight champion.

The current direction of Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) isn’t quite as defined. That said, the two-division and reigning Ring/WBO junior welterweight king is taking steps to position himself for lucrative paydays and more career-defining moments.

The other fighters currently in talks with Alalshikh are (in alphabetical order): Adam Azim (12-0, 9 KOs); Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs); Conor Benn (23-0, 14 KOs); Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs); Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3, 25 KOs); Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs; 1 No-Contest); Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs; 1 No-Contest); Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs); Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs); Anthony Yarde (26-3, 24 KOs); and William Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs).

Several fighters on the list are working on fight deals beyond what is already scheduled.

Azim is currently scheduled to face former 140-pound titlist Sergey Lipinets (18-3-1) atop a Feb. 1 Sky Sports/Peacock+ show from OVO Arena Wembley in London. Later that evening, Mexico City’s Cruz will face countryman Angel Fierro on the David Benavidez-David Morrell PBC on Prime Pay-Per-View undercard from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Stevenson is due to defend his WBC lightweight title against Floyd Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) on the Feb. 22 Beterbiev-Bivol II Riyadh Season undercard.

With a win, there stands a great chance that the talks being held separately by Alalshikh with Stevenson and Zepeda will lead to a head-on collision.

As previously reported by The Ring, Benn and Eubank are in talks to resurrect their previously canceled second-generation grudge match. Should a deal be reached, the fight is targeted to take place later this spring, likely in London.

Similarly, The Ring has learned that—despite their public stance to the contrary—Haney and Garcia are in talks for a rematch also planned for this spring. There are a number of issues to be resolved for a second fight whose possibility was first reported by host Cynthia Conte, founder and co-host of Best Women’s Boxing Show, Period (BWBSP).

The timing of this planned schedule drop is not coincidental. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is due for release on April 24, available on PlayStation 4 and 5, Windows and Xbox Series X and S.