“I don’t know how that’s all going to play out, we’ll see,” the UFC prez Dana White said when asked about working with other promoters like Oscar De La Hoya and the existent sanctioning bodies in boxing. Since March, Dana White’s been busy laying the groundwork for his bold new boxing league. The vision? A system where the best fight the best—no politics, no promoters pulling strings, no sanctioning bodies muddying the waters. Sounds great on paper, right? But that’s the catch: what looks solid in theory often turns into a logistical nightmare in practice.
With His Excellency Turki Alalshikh backing him with his influence and finances, Dana White wants to change the entire landscape of the game. “Build it from the ground up,” he says. But here’s the real question: how is he going to do that? If the 55-year-old wants to make a real impact in boxing, he’s eventually going to have to deal with the promoter politics he’s trying to avoid. And that’s where Oscar De La Hoya comes in. The two share an intense dislike with one another that goes back years. With 23 years as a promoter under his belt, De La Hoya is not exactly new to the game. So will they ever work together? The Olympic gold medalist says yes.
Yesterday, Oscar De La Hoya shared his latest Clapback Thursdays segment. In the newest edition, he took aim, not at his usual target—Canelo Alvarez—but at the UFC president Dana White. De La Hoya began, “Speaking of s–mbags, everyone has been asking me for my opinion on Dana White entering the boxing space”—yeah, that kind of energy! According to him, people have been bugging him about the UFC boss’s new venture, and now that he’s done his homework, he’s ready to spill the tea.
The Golden Boy stated that Dana White and his new league don’t have any fighters. “You can’t run a boxing organization when you don’t have any fighters. And right now, TKO and Dana have zero fighters,” the 52-year-old emphasized, “this means they’re likely in it for the long haul.” According to the six-division champion, White is very likely waiting for fighters’ contracts with current promoters to end, hoping to snatch them up years down the line. “What else do we know?” he continued.
Welcome to boxing Dana White.
Oscar De La Hoya has just unleashed on Dana in a 5 minute rant. pic.twitter.com/ywbv4uZwSq
— Boxing Kingdom (@BoxingKingdom14) April 4, 2025
Now, here’s where it gets juicy. A few weeks ago, some alleged salary numbers from TKO Boxing were leaked. And if those numbers are legit? According to De La Hoya, there are some problems. Problem number one: “No fighters [are] going to fight for these pennies. The majority of their prospects will fight one or two times a year. And be forced to survive on minimum pay,” De La Hoya predicted. Problem number two: Big names like Canelo Alvarez or Ryan Garcia aren’t going to agree to fight for $750k. “No pay-per-view fighter will fight for $750,000. You’re telling me the Canelo’s and the Ryan’s of this world are going to agree to this kind of pay cut? NO!” he explained.
And finally, problem number three: “If these numbers are real, the UFC fighters will be so pissed. The TKO boxers will be getting paid so much more than they are! UFC fighters are already disgusted with how little they get paid for putting their lives on the line,” De La Hoya stated boldly. But that wasn’t all.
Oscar De La Hoya also reminded everyone that this wasn’t Dana White’s first attempt at boxing. “Remember Zuffa Boxing?” he questioned. Yeah, it never even launched. Oscar De La Hoya pointed out: “When Dana doesn’t have the funding and the business brains already in place, like the Fertitta’s or Turki(Alalshikh), he always fails.” Despite these many issues highlighted by De La Hoya does he ever see himself working with Dan White?
Surprisingly… yes. He said he’d be open to it because, in his words, “80% of the folks I deal with in boxing are s–mbags, anyway.” Brutal honesty! But until that happens, “I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing and I will continue making the best fights on DAZN,” he confirmed. His final mic drop? “You’re never a hater when you only speak the facts.” However, leaving those matters aside, it seems like Oscar De La Hoya firmly believes the UFC boss is not a perfect fit for boxing.
Oscar De La Hoya mocks Dana White’s fighter purse
In a chat with Fight Hub TV not too long ago, Oscar De La Hoya said, “Dana White doesn’t know boxing.” Bold, right? He basically called out Dana White, saying he’s just the latest in a long line of people who’ve tried to come in, shake things up, and change how boxing works… and usually, it doesn’t end well.
Now, despite the harsh words, De La Hoya’s stance wasn’t completely anti-Dana. Believe it or not, he actually agreed with Dana on one thing: the sport needs to grow, and there’s definitely room for improvement. But when it comes to how the 55-year-old plans to do it—especially through this whole TKO boxing setup—Oscar’s got some serious doubts. “It’s going to be interesting how the UFC fighters are going to react when fighters are getting so much money in boxing and then Dana doesn’t pay the UFC fighter. So it’s going to be very interesting to see how it all unfolds,” De La Hoya commented sarcastically. He’s been in this game for more than two decades, so he’s not easily impressed by flashy ideas without a solid foundation.
And honestly, Oscar De La Hoya’s not alone in throwing shade at Dana’s business model. Remember when Francis Ngannou left the UFC? A big part of that decision came down to money and freedom—he felt underpaid and creatively boxed in. So, is Dana White really the guy to change boxing for the better? Time will tell. But if you ask Oscar De La Hoya, he’s not convinced… at least, not yet.
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