Dana White: I’m 100% Getting Into Boxing
UFC President Dana White has long been the face of the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion, and it appears as if he’s looking to test his promotional skills out in the sport of boxing.
At a media gathering yesterday (Nov. 7, 2017) at the famed Wild Card Boxing Gym in California, White explained his new business venture, per Lance Pugmire of the LA Times:
“No, no, no, I’m not leaving the UFC. I’m getting into boxing with [WME/IMG head] Ari [Emanuel] and the UFC will be doing boxing, too,” White said.
“It’s still early. We’re still working on it. I’ve got to get my [stuff] together, but I’m getting into boxing, man. It’s coming.”
White has made it clear over the years how big of a boxing fan he is, and although he wasn’t the primary promoter, he did play a role in the Aug. 26 boxing match between former five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather and reigning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor.
As far as who he would promote and how exactly the UFC would go about handling this new task, White admitted that he still has to ‘get some homework done’. Perhaps he could work with Al Haymon’s stable of fighters, but he said that he and Haymon haven’t spoken just yet:
“Al and I haven’t talked about this at all. We’ll see who’s interested when I say, ‘Let’s do this,’” White said. “It’s harder than saying we’re getting into boxing. We still have to get some homework done. I feel like I can do it better than everyone else. I love the sport.”
At the end of the day, White said that the UFC isn’t ‘afraid’ of trying new things and he appears to be confident that the promotion can make its mark in boxing:
“If you look at what we’ve done over the last 15 years, we’re not afraid to try new things,” White said.
What do you make of White’s latest comments?
