Dana White is eager to invest in boxing and plans major announcements by 2025, but UFC’s owners at TKO Group Holdings are cautious about committing financially and prefer a low-risk, organic approach.
Dana White’s been buzzing about boxing for ages, but the UFC’s owners aren’t jumping in just yet.
In September, White hinted he was ready to plunge into boxing, promising big news by early 2025. He’s already backing Callum Walsh, an undefeated Irish prospect, but he’s got bigger plans brewing.
“People have been talking about the demise of boxing for 30 years, and we’re still here talking about boxing right now,” White said back then. “I have always had an idea of how I thought it should be done. I don’t know if that’s possible, but we’re going to find out. I’m coming in guns blazing.”
Now, what “guns blazing” means to White might not match the vision TKO Group Holdings has for boxing.
During a quarterly earnings call on Wednesday, TKO Group Holdings president Mark Shapiro addressed White’s eagerness to dive into boxing.
“First of all, some off-the-cuff comments from Dana White do not translate into a strategy that we’re communicating to the street,” Shapiro said. “Dana says a lot of things and has a lot of passions and that’s why we love him. He’s also the best promoter the sport of MMA and frankly if it was boxing has or will ever see.
“What I can tell you is boxing at its best is confused and fragmented. At its worst, it’s broken. We think the sport presents an interesting growth opportunity for us. Dana White, and I should mention [WWE president] Nick Khan, have deep expertise and longstanding relationships in what they call the sweet science, otherwise known as boxing.”
Bottom line: TKO isn’t writing any big checks for boxing right now.
Could White tackle boxing like he did slap fighting with Power Slap? It’s possible. But remember, Power Slap isn’t directly linked to TKO Group Holdings.
Maybe things will change down the line, but for now, TKO’s sticking to MMA with UFC and professional wrestling with WWE.
“Nothing to announce today but this is one area we’re going to continue to explore,” Shapiro mentioned. “We’ve talked about a dearth of leagues that are out there.”
“We’re blessed to have two experts in the field and if an opportunity presents itself or we can chase one down that does not put much risk or any risk for that matter on us financially, then we’re going to pursue it.”