:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57329685/505730982.0.jpg)
UFC President Dana White has had an up-and-down relationship with the sport of boxing. Though he made his start as a boxing manager and maintains a level of fandom for the sport, in recent years White has been critical of boxing and some of the major players in it. Recently, White added another log to this fire when in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, when he said that boxing is killing itself by not caring about the future and “trying to get every dime they can out of you” at every event. They’re accusations that some in the boxing community don’t take kindly to.
Top Rank CEO and founder Bob Arum, who has exchanged public barbs with White over the years, recently spoke with NYFights, responding to White’s criticisms by saying that the White and the UFC don’t actually invest in their sport because they are lining their own pockets and not paying fighters adequately.
“You have to understand, UFC is a monopoly. The money they earn on a fight because they pay their athletes 20 percent of the gross, we pay around 80 percent, what they say they’re investing back in the business, they’re investing in themselves. They put money in their pockets! That’s not investing in anything. In boxing, there are a large number of promoters, and when a promoter has a successful event and there’s a profit he earns, he puts it back in the company. What the f**k is White talking about? White is speaking from desperation now, he’s the spokesperson for what could be a failing business!”
Morning Report: Bob Arum responds to Dana White, calls the UFC desperate