UFC boss Dana White has hammered the “f***ed up” boxing business as a “an absolute f***ing s*** show” as the promoter looks to get into the sport.
White announced last year he would hold a press conference to reveal his plans to set up Zuffa Boxing – the same brand owned by his friends and former UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta.
UFC President Dana White revealed plans to launch Zuffa Boxing
The promoter first had the idea to run a boxing promotion during the time he helped stage the crossover bout between Floyd Mayweather and then UFC champion Conor McGregor in August 2017.
But three years on and White is yet to officially launch his boxing promotion and in a conversation on veteran boxing promoter Frank Warren’s podcast, the UFC president did not hold back on his thoughts on current state of the sport.
He said: “I knew – but you don’t really know until you get into it – how f***ed up this sport really is. This sport is an absolute f***ing s*** show.
“I realised how f***ing bad this thing really is. Instead of diving in head first, I’ve been taking my time and it seems like the more the sport continues to go on, the more f***ed up it becomes.
“It’s hard to articulate to you truly how messed up this whole thing really is.
This sport is an absolute f***ing s*** show. I realised how f***ing bad this thing really is.
UFC president Dana White on boxing
“Literally everything about this business is a mess.”
White – a former amateur boxer – began working in the boxing business in Las Vegas before managing UFC fighters in the promotion’s early years.
But after the Fertitta brothers – school friends of White’s – brought the company in 2001, Dana was hired as the promotion’s president.
Having seen a huge rise in popularity thanks to stars like Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey and McGregor, the UFC brand is now a direct competitor to headline boxing events.
White believes boxing’s inability to pit the best versus the best is what drives fans to follow the UFC, where he insists his top talent must fight each other.
He explained: “In boxing it’s done this thing for such a long time; they keep the best away from the best for as long as possible so that they can keep those undefeated records.
“Undefeated records really mean something in this sport (MMA). Khabib is 29-0 and that’s f***ing legit, he has fought everybody and beat everybody.
“Once you get to the UFC, you’re fighting the absolute best in the world.”
White promoted the crossover bout between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor
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Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
