THEATRE OF DREAMS
Saudi boxing chiefs plan fights at outrageous venues including Eiffel Tower, Colosseum and inside infamous prison
One has already been used in the Olympics
TURKI ALALSHIKH has revealed stunning plans to host fights at venues including the Eiffel Tower, Colosseum and inside an infamous prison.
Alalshikh helped spearhead the recent boom in the sport by offering up huge sums to finally make the best fights happen.
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But his Riyadh Season and personal promotion have also started staging events outside of Saudi - including in London and Los Angeles.
Now Alalshikh has plans to take the sport to outrageous venues across Europe and America.
He told : “What do you think if there is [an] event, fight in Alcatraz jail one day?
“It is like a museum now. You know, sometimes I get in my mind I want different places to do [fights].
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"Sometimes in mountains, maybe someday in the Pyramids in Mexico, someday in Eiffel Tower in France, Coliseum in Italy. You understand this concept?”
Alcatraz
The correctional facility in San Jose has imprisoned some of the world's most notorious criminals, including gangster Al Capone.
It closed in 1963 because it became too expensive to maintain and operate - since turning into a museum and touring spot.
No sports event has ever been held on the island - but inmates were known to play baseball and softball while locked up.
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Eiffel Tower
The 1,000-foot tower cost £1.2billion to construct in 1889 - which equates to £30BILLION in the current day.
In 2024, the Eiffel Tower stadium was built for the Paris Olympics with the landmark attraction standing over the pitch.
Beach volleyball and blind football were played there - but the temporary stadium was dismantled after the Games ended.
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The Colosseum
The ancient amphitheatre - in Italy's capital of Rome - was constructed nearly 2,000 years ago in AD 70–80.
It hosted several Roman sports events, including gladiator games and wild animal hunts but was NOT used in the 1960 Olympics.
But in 2023, UFC boss Dana White tried to get a sensational MMA fight between tech moguls Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk staged at the Colosseum.
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Mexican Pyramids
Mexico has several historic pyramids, including the Mayan and Aztec.
There have been live music events staged by the pyramids but not sports events like pro wrestling.
Instead, boxing matches are usually held in arenas or stadiums - including the 80,000-seat Azteca.
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Alalshikh also named Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, The Intrepid aircraft carrier in New York and the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood as other options.
National Memorial sculpture Mount Rushmore has the carved heads of US presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
Mount Rushmore once had an an amateur baseball team but no games were ever played on site.
The Intrepid is a military and maritime history museum in New York City - located at Pier 86 at 46th Street.
And in 2001, a boxing card was televised from the flight deck of The USS Intrepid.
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The Chinese Theatre - in LA - is a movie palace on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame.
No sports events have been staged inside or outside the theatre, but ceremonies have including for the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant.
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