Eddie Hearn: Dana White & Zuffa Boxing Can’t Control Fighters Like In UFC
Dana White is ready to break into the boxing business. The UFC boss has officially hired someone to front his Zuffa Boxing project.
White is looking to help clean up the sport and make the best fighters fight against the best. However, famed boxing promoter Eddie Hearn thinks White is in for a rude awakening. Speaking to Luke Thomas on “The Luke Thomas Show” on Sirius XM Radio, Hearn explained why White won’t be able to “dominate” and “control the fighters” the way he does in the UFC. (H/T Bloody Elbow)
“I think Dana White is a very intelligent man,” Hearn said. “I think he’s a great promoter as well. A lot of the stuff that he’s done with the UFC — I’ll be honest, I’ve copied a lot of it. They’ve done a great job. I think the difference [is] he’s gonna find it very different in boxing [compered to] UFC.
“”It’s not a sport that you can go in and dominate the fighters, control the fighters, get them to sign contracts to fight ultimately whoever they’re told to fight, which is the UFC model. One of the reasons I think the UFC does so well is because fighters really are told which fights they’re taking. That’s not the way in boxing. [In] boxing, the fighters tend to have much more control over their career.
“Of course there are a number of promoters, there are a number of networks who are involved, so there’s a huge amount of politics in the sport of boxing, which is frustrating sometimes. I think that’s something that’s actually going to frustrate Dana White.
“So I would love him to have a go at that, because I think the more promoters, the more investment, the more people making effort to make this sport great, the better. So here’s more than welcome, but I don’t think he’ll have the same kind of model as the UFC.”
White might not necessarily disagree with Hearn. He recently admitted that the sport might be too broken that it can’t be fixed. However, that’s not going to stop the UFC boss from trying.
What do you think about Hearn’s comments regarding White and Zuffa boxing?
