Dana White Says Fury-Wilder Trilogy Was ‘Exactly What Boxing Needed’
The final fight in the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder trilogy was such a success, even Dana White was forced to give them a tip of the cap.
Fury and Wilder met for the third and presumably last time on Saturday night. ‘The Gypsy King’ was able to defend his WBC and The Ring titles with an 11th-round knockout. The fight was a back-and-forth affair that saw both men get dropped. It’s already being proclaimed by some as the greatest heavyweight title fight in the history of boxing.
Of course, White has had more than his fair share of grievances about the state of boxing and the promoters who run it. However, even he was forced to give credit where credit is due following the epic match (h/t MMA Junkie).
“I thought it was awesome,” White told reporters at the UFC Apex following Tuesday’s Contender Series event. “Going into it, my thought process was, ‘For what? Why?’ (Joshua) just got beat, and why do that? You know why? Because boxing needed that fight. It was an incredible heavyweight fight. I thought both guys fought their asses off and for Fury to come in 277 pounds and fight the way that he fought, get knocked down, get back up, keep fighting – it’s just exactly what boxing needed, so (I’m) glad it happened. Congratulations to both of them, everybody involved and the sport of boxing.”
White himself has dabbled with the idea of going into the boxing business, even going so far as to trademark ‘Zuffa Boxing’. He often spoke about entering the boxing world and fixing the “broken model” that he claimed plagued the sport. Unfortunately, we never got a chance to see what he would do with his own promotion, as he effectively put a halt in his plans in late 2020.
Are you surprised to see Dana White giving boxing credit? Will we ever see him run his own boxing promotion?
