As Turki Alalshikh continues his push into boxing, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority has obtained the services of one of the sport’s top insiders.
According to Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel, Mike Coppinger is leaving ESPN for The Ring Magazine. Alalshikh purchased the storied boxing publication from Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions for a reported price of $10 million.
News of Ring Magazine‘s hiring of Coppinger is especially noteworthy as it comes just weeks after TKO announced plans to launch its new boxing promotion in partnership with Saudi Arabia. While details regarding the promotion have remained sparse to this point, Alalshikh recently signed boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez to a four-fight deal. Sports Illustrated‘s Chris Mannix stated on a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast that plans for an Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford Netflix super fight in September are currently the sport’s “worst-kept secret.”
In the meantime, Alalshikh is putting fights on under The Ring Magazine banner, including the FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves event at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on April 26 and a May 2 event in Times Square headlined by Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando Romero. Suffice it to say, it will be a busy year in the boxing world, with Alalshikh continuing to further his already sizable influence in the sport.
In addition to promoting boxing’s highest profile events, Alalshikh now also employs arguably its top news-breaker, with this marking Mike Coppinger’s second stint at The Ring Magazine in addition to having also worked for The Athletic and USA Today before joining ESPN in 2021. The George Mason graduate’s name also popped up in the news early last month about the lawsuit filed by former Top Rank “fixer” Billy Keane, who claimed the promotion’s president asked him to get two ESPN employees fired, one of whom was reportedly Coppinger.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.