The veteran journalist denied directing social media reporting after Turki Alalshikh mentioned him, while questioning whether rival promoters are ready to end their public feud
Fresh details have emerged from Tuesday’s closed-door boxing summit in London after Ariel Helwani disclosed that Nick Khan participated in the discussions despite being absent from the widely shared group photo. Helwani also rejected Turki Alalshikh’s suggestion that he influenced reporting surrounding the meeting.
“I can tell you that Dana White wasn’t there. I can tell you that Nick Khan did speak to these individuals. I do not know why a group picture wasn’t taken,” Helwani said on his AH Show. “From what I understand, there was a group discussion.”
The comments came after Turki initially included Zuffa among the companies represented at the meeting before editing his post to remove the name. When EverythingBoxing’s Darshan Desai questioned the change on X, Turki responded by saying he owns 60 percent of Zuffa and serves as chairman of its board before adding, “Give the phone back to Helwani.”
Helwani dismissed the suggestion that he had any involvement in Desai’s reporting.
“I’ve never told Darshan to write anything. Absolutely absurd,” Helwani said. “I’ve never told anyone to write anything or not write something… certainly not on Twitter.”
He added that he was surprised to be mentioned at all.
“I’m not really sure what the beef is with me,” said Helwani about Turki,
Helwani also offered his own assessment of the summit, questioning whether the rival promoters involved are genuinely interested in ending the public dispute that has dominated boxing in recent weeks.
I had a productive meeting yesterday with all interested parties in terms of the overall state of boxing. We can collectively grow this great sport to the benefit of the fighters, the sport and its fans globally. You haen’t seen anything yet!💪🏻🥊❤️🙏🏻
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) July 1, 2026
“Does anyone think that Nick Khan, Eddie Hearn, Frank Warren, Spencer Brown, any of these people, are any of them looking for peace?” Helwani asked. “It seems like the only one who is actually pushing for this is Turki.”
Rather than seeing the meeting as a sign that tensions have eased, Helwani believes many of the sport’s power brokers still relish the competition.
“It doesn’t seem like the people involved in this picture are actually wanting peace.”
Turki has yet to reveal whether any formal agreements emerged from the meeting, saying only that discussions lasted more than four hours and hinting that “big surprises” are still to come.
Turki Alalshikh hosted big meetings with major boxing figures in London today ‼️ pic.twitter.com/LkvflA3leA
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) June 30, 2026
