Dana White labels boxing ‘really stupid’ over Fury and Wilder failing to organise rematch
DANA WHITE called boxing “really stupid” after Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder failed to organise a rematch for this year.
The UFC president is not impressed by the Gypsy King’s next opponent - unbeaten Swede Otto Wallin - who he faces on September 14 in Las Vegas.
White slammed the decision for Fury not to fight Wilder next, with the pair boxing to a draw in December and signing to rematch in February 2020.
He told : “Right there is one of the biggest problems with the sport of boxing.
“You’ve got a guy like Tyson Fury who comes off this amazing fight with Deontay Wilder. It was a good fight, people loved the fight, and people were excited about it, and what happens?
“It ends in a draw and they don’t rematch. Or they don’t fight one of the other big two. How does that happen? How is that even possible?
“Again, that’s the sport and it’s one of the really not only bad things about the sport it’s one of the really stupid things about boxing.
“Everybody wants to fight over their little tiny piece of turf when realistically, if they did things the right way, there’s tons of money for everybody.
“Everybody would make a lot of money, more fans would get involved, there’d be more media coverage, and the list goes on and on."
White announced plans to make a foray into the Sweet Science with the idea of launching Zuffa Boxing.
The American promoter is yet to officially launch the promotion, but discussed the idea before UFC superstar Conor McGregor boxed ring legend Floyd Mayweather in 2017.
Having criticised Anthony Joshua and Wilder for not putting their promotional differences aside to fight, White wants to emulate the “machine” he has in the UFC with all his talent under one roof.
He added: “It’s the sport and the politics in the sport and it has always been that way and if somebody doesn’t change it, it’s always gonna be that way.
“[We will promote boxers] just like we promote all these guys here. First of all, in boxing there is no brand.
“I always talk about the machine, the UFC machine we’ve built here, and when we put guys or girls who are talented in the machine, you start to build them and there’s nothing like that in boxing.
“That’s what I want to build. I would do it just like I’ve done it here.”