Naoya Inoue Enters Financial Agreement As Riyadh Season Ambassador

Nov

The sport’s most aggressive movement has landed a “Monster” signing.

A financial agreement was reached that will see Naoya Inoue serve as an ambassador to the Riyadh Season boxing series. News of the signing was confirmed by both sides on Monday.

“With Riyadh Season Ambassador, the boxing legend Naoya Inoue,” Turki Alalshikh, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman, posted on X. “Big surprises coming soon.”

With Riyadh Season Ambassador .. The boxing legend Naoya Inoue ❤️

Big surprises coming soon 🔥🇸🇦#RiyadhSeason #BigTime pic.twitter.com/7hUmVr2XbK

— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) November 4, 2024

Details of the agreement were not revealed as this goes to publication, though expected to be well into eight figures. Representatives from the group declined comment to The Ring, other than to confirm “big news to come” in the next few days.

With the signing of Inoue (28-0, 25 knockouts), the Riyadh Season circuit now boasts The Ring’s top five pound-for-pound fighters. Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs), Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) and Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) have all appeared on the series in 2024,

Inoue’s next fight was already locked in before this agreement.

The four-division champ and reigning RING 122-pound king will face Australia’s Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) on Dec. 24 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. However, the alliance now gives the Riyadh Season group a foothold in the Asian market.

Inoue has long served as Japan’s leading attraction—and its best fighter, by far. The reigning 2023 Fighter of the Year is proud to serve this role with Alalshikh and his group.

“We have signed a sponsorship contract with Riyadh Season,” Inoue confirmed late Monday. “I am very happy to have been able to break down the class barrier and sign such a big contract. I believe that signing this contract now, as I am approaching the latter half of my career, is an important first step that will accelerate the rest of my boxing career.

“From now on, every match will be a very important one, so please continue to support us! Until now, every match has been a very important one, but from now on, it will be even more important.”

この度、サウジアラビア政府直轄のプロジェクト「リヤド•シーズン」とのスポンサー契約を締結致しました。

階級の壁を壊しこんな大型契約を結べたこと大変嬉しく思います。… pic.twitter.com/KWdEnUeod9

— 井上尚弥 Naoya Inoue (@naoyainoue_410) November 5, 2024