It was in December when Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi royal adviser-turned kingmaker of professional boxing, first floated his latest brainchild: a \u2018full takeover\u2019 of Times Square for a historic fight night in New York. Pereira was tasked with turning fantasy into reality.<\/p>\n
He is the CEO of iVisit Media, a marketing and events company that works with giants such as Apple, Manchester United<\/a> and the Olympic Games. Its mantra is \u2018making the impossible, possible\u2019. And yet, among all the challenges they have taken on over the past three decades? This is \u2018No 1,\u2019 Pereira says. \u2018By a long, long way.\u2019<\/p>\n Alalshikh has teased future shows on Alcatraz Island and at the Roman Coliseum. First, though, on Friday night, three of America\u2019s biggest boxing stars \u2013 Ryan Garcia<\/a>, Teofimo Lopez<\/a> and Devin Haney<\/a> \u2013 will fight in the middle of Manhattan\u2019s most chaotic, teeming intersection.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018This has never been done before,\u2019 Pereira says. \u2018The amount of moving parts\u2026 it’s just another level.\u2019<\/p>\n Up to around 300,000 people pass through Times Square in Manhattan every single day\u00a0<\/p>\n Three of boxing’s biggest stars will fight in the heart of Times Square in New York City\u00a0<\/p>\n Turk Alalshikh (pictured) is chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority\u00a0<\/p>\n They will headline an event six months in the making. An event that began with a 200-page pitch and has required nearly 60 meetings a week. An event that has involved 40-odd backers including the NYPD, the FDNY, the New York State Athletic Commission, NYC parks, the Mayor’s Office. And the Times Square Alliance, which helps look after the pedestrian plazas and sky-scraping billboards.<\/p>\n \u2018We’ve done wrestling, we’ve done bull riding\u2026 we’ve done a lot,\u2019 TSA president Tom Harris says. \u2018We haven’t had professional boxing, and it’s about time\u2026. (it\u2019s) the center of the world.\u2019<\/p>\n The Alliance is used to carnage. A typical day will see around 300,000 people pass through this half-square mile of mayhem. Every December 31, around 1million people jostle for a view of the iconic ball drop. On New Year\u2019s Eve, though, the area is sealed off and the neighborhood \u2018slows down\u2019.<\/p>\n This Friday, tourists will still pour out of subway stations, traffic will continue to edge down Seventh Avenue and more Broadway shows than ever will open their doors. \u2018That’s the beauty,\u2019 Pereira says. \u2018Times Square is going to be open all the way through.\u2019 The only difference? A boxing ring will at the epicenter of the anarchy.<\/p>\n Precise details of how organizers would navigate all of the people and all of the chaos have been kept under wraps. Images of the final plans remain top secret. There were suggestions that \u2018half a million\u2019 fans would watch for free. But the Daily Mail can now reveal Saudi Arabia\u2019s blueprint for \u2018Fatal Fury Times Square\u2019:<\/p>\n Teofimo Lopez (left) will face Arnold Barboza Jr. for the\u00a0WBO World super lightweight title<\/p>\n Ryan Garcia returns to the ring against Rolly Romero on the historic New York fight night<\/p>\n New York has a rich fighting tradition. Madison Square Garden hosted The Fight of the Century between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1971, while many modern greats have fought at Brooklyn\u2019s Barclays Center.<\/p>\n Here, though, it was \u2018one hell of a ride\u2019 just to reach a point in early March when this show could be announced. Organizers have had to walk a \u2018fine tight rope\u2019 to keep everyone happy: the authorities, the local businesses, the commission, the promoters and those holding the purse strings.<\/p>\n It does not require the sharpest business mind to foresee that working in Times Square will come with some logistical challenges. The people, the traffic, the noise, the never-ending churn. \u2018We can’t bring New York to a standstill,\u2019 Pereira says.<\/p>\n But they have had to bend some rules. Most events in Times Square can only be announced a few days out. If a big name is appearing, that might be cut to 30 minutes. It\u2019s a safety measure to prevent a possible flood of visitors. An exception was made here because boxing cannot survive without prolonged promotion.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, there was no way round some of Manhattan\u2019s other hurdles. That wind, for one. Any breeze that blows in off the Hudson River is funnelled through the grid of high-rise buildings. \u2018They use the word \u201ccanyon\u201d. And it really is,\u2019 Pereira says.<\/p>\n So thanks to an engineering \u2018marvel\u2019, a new canopy has been specially designed. It will be secured with giant concrete ballasts. Funnily enough, there aren\u2019t many places to fix guide ropes in Times Square.<\/p>\n And if there were, you\u2019d need sign-off for every peg. \u2018Everything requires a permit,\u2019 Pereira says. \u2018It\u2019s different to anywhere else in the world.\u2019<\/p>\n That includes even the most basic infrastructure: \u2018the handrails, the steps, the positioning of the toilet\u2026,\u2019 Pereira explains. \u2018When you put a cable down, that’s one permit\u2026 if you just want (it) to cross a street, it\u2019s permit per street that you cross.\u2019<\/p>\n Every New Year’s Eve, around 1million people jostle for a view of the iconic ball drop<\/p>\n There is only one advantage to all that bureaucracy \u2013 nothing can be left until the last minute. Except the actual construction. \u2018You might expect a build to take 36 hours, this is going to take four days,\u2019 Pereira says. Crews must work amid all the anarchy and within Times Square\u2019s tiny \u2018footprint\u2019. Construction will begin midnight on Tuesday and any remnants of the show should be gone by Sunday.<\/p>\n \u2018What’s different about this than a lot of events, is we only have one shot. There’s no dress rehearsal,\u2019 Harris says.<\/p>\n The aim is to minimize disruption to Times Square\u2019s residents \u2013 the restaurants and stores and theaters. \u2018It is their home,\u2019 Pereira says.<\/p>\n So work has gone in to ensure the noise of fight night will \u2013 where possible \u2013 confined to the bubble and the surrounding pens. \u2018We’re trying to keep as much of the ambience of Times Square as we possibly can,\u2019 Pereira says.<\/p>\n But organizers are taking over two blocks \u2013 either side of 42nd and 43rd street \u2013 just to carve out space for staff and parked cars.<\/p>\n As payback, they have struck deals with local businesses. Some might house VIPs or makeup staff or broadcast crews. To thank others, Pereira explains, \u2018we’re just buying lots of their coffee or lots of their cake\u2019.<\/p>\n By allowing everyone else to operate as normal, the safety and security threat is obvious. So they have designed a quit exit route for ambulances and there will be hundreds of cops on hand – including counter-terrorism, intelligence and traffic officers. \u2018NYPD have been probably our greatest advocates,\u2019 Pereira says.<\/p>\n Many of the iconic billboards of Times Square will be taken over for the event on Friday night<\/p>\n Devin Haney will take on the experienced Jose Ramirez when boxing comes to Times Square<\/p>\n Times Square Alliance, meanwhile, gave the green light after at least half a dozen initial meetings, when Pereira and Co presented their plans in a 200-odd-page dossier.<\/p>\n \u2018My first reaction was excitement,\u2019 Harris says. \u2018It was \u201cwow\u201d\u2026 there was never a doubt that we could make it work.\u2019 But? \u2018The trick is making sure everyone understands what will work and what won\u2019t work.\u2019<\/p>\n Organizers have flirted \u2018close to the wire\u2019 at times but, as fight night approaches, most boxes have been ticked. \u2018We were given a vision,\u2019 Pereira says. \u2018We’ve delivered on that vision.\u2019<\/p>\n All that\u2019s left to do? The simple task of managing Times Square\u2019s \u2018moving pieces\u2019 before the bell sounds. \u2018This boxing match goes off without a hitch, everyone gets to their Broadway show on time and to their dinner reservation on time,\u2019 Harris says. \u2018That is success.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ed Pereira was wandering around midtown Manhattan when the cold reality of his new job began to hit.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4108],"tags":[1935,92,4447,93,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-57285","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-dailymail","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-sport","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114415290589732510","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Up](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/97701831-14648471-Up_to_around_300_000_people_pass_through_Times_Square_in_Manhatt-a-3_1745775427862.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Three](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/97701833-14648471-Three_of_boxing_s_biggest_stars_will_fight_in_the_heart_of_Times-a-2_1745775427859.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Turk](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/97701835-14648471-Turk_Alalshikh_oictured_is_chairman_of_Saudi_Arabia_s_General_En-a-1_1745775427855.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/97702769-14648471-image-a-9_1745776124345.jpg\")
![\"Teofimo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/97701841-14648471-Teofimo_Lopez_left_will_face_Arnold_Barboza_Jr_for_the_WBO_World-a-6_1745775427879.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/97701839-14648471-Ryan_Garcia_returns_to_the_ring_against_Rolly_Romero_on_the_hist-a-8_1745775428650.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Every](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/97701827-14648471-image-a-4_1745775427867.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Many](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/97701825-14648471-Many_of_the_iconic_billboards_of_Times_Square_will_be_taken_over-a-5_1745775427874.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Devin](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/97701843-14648471-Devin_Haney_will_take_on_the_experienced_Jose_Ramirez_when_boxin-a-7_1745775427986.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n