The reaction to UFC boss Dana White announcing the collapse of his failed bid to break the boxing promotional market has been swift over the past few hours.
White has called off attempts to launch Zuffa Boxing, a project in the making for at least the last three years.
The idea stemmed from involvement in a clash between Floyd Mayweather and UFC star Conor McGregor back in 2017.
A lifelong boxing fan, White wanted to have all his irons in the fire with both sides of the lucrative combat code.
Fast forward to almost 2021, and White has confirmed his intention to step away.
“I’ve been looking and kicking the tires on boxing for the last couple of years,” White told MMA Reporter Aaron Bronsteter via video interview.
“The reason you’ve never seen me do anything is because of how screwed up and broken it is. That’s what a mess it is.
“I’m not doing anything anytime soon,” he added.
Dana White on Zuffa Boxing: "I've been looking and kicking the tires on boxing for the last couple years and the reason you've never seen me do anything is because that's how screwed up and broken it is, that's what a mess it is. I'm not doing anything anytime soon." pic.twitter.com/A3T2fXAXzb
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) December 10, 2020
Not getting anything off the ground is one thing, but to label the sport in this way is unfathomable less than a fortnight after two 50-odd-year-old legends broke the top ten United States Pay Per Views of all time.
DANA WHITE REACTION
Reaction to White was damning by some of those who chose to respond.
One commenter said: “Dana realizes there’s no way he can control boxing as he does with MMA.”
Another stated: “I can’t get past the Ali Act and would be obligated to be transparent about my business, which would limit the extent to which I could exploit fighters. – is what Dana means and doesn’t say.”
It’s true boxing is not where it was even a few years ago, but there are certain roadblocks in place right now that hold off any real progress.
Boxing has been unable to build on the massive 1.2m numbers Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder did back in February due to the pandemic.
The whole climate just isn’t the same right now and several huge match-ups are on the backburner.
Add to that the social media and celebrity fad factor currently infecting boxing, and it may take some time to recover fully.
Pugilism isn’t the only combat sport dealing with this, though. Several UFC fighters are now calling out YouTubers to get a piece of that pie.
It swings in roundabouts in regards to these temporary success stories involving vloggers. At the end of the day, they will find their lane again.
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