'Break the sport down'… Dana White's revolutionary plan for boxing leaves fans divided
03/17/2025 08:27 AM
Dana White's new TKO Boxing league continues to stir up a storm.
The announcement of Dana White and Turki Alalshikh starting a new boxing league together has been met with a mixed response from the global combat sports community.
On one hand, some fans argue White's venture will bring a much-needed breath of fresh air to the sport – while others state that the UFC model he's expected to bring with him, simply won't work for professional boxing.
Dana White wants to 'break' boxing down before rebuilding with new league
Speaking to Fight Hub TV, as he watched 'King' Callum Walsh score a first-round knockout in New York City, Dana White was asked about his plan to 'fix boxing' – specifically, what needs to be different in order for TKO Boxing to succeed.
"Ah, where do you begin? Probably, you know, [making] the best fighting the best, I'd start there."
White remained coy on whether TKO's first boxing event could be headlined by Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford, noting that both he and Turki Alalshikh are in an interesting position – if they can get on the right side of things.
"Listen, my model is way different, Turki has things that he's obligated to over the next 18 months… I want to break this sport down and build it from the ground up like we did with the UFC so I'm on a different path."
When asked whether he'll be working with the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Eddie Hearn, Frank Warren and other top promoters in booking matchups, White simply smiled and said: "I don't know, I don't know how that's all going to play out, we'll see."
Those comments have been met with a mixed reaction from the global boxing community, with a large portion of the responses being to the tune of 'This attitude can't last'.
"Dana don't know s— about boxing," reads one fan comment, with another rather dejected listener adding "The more he talks, the more I want him to stay away from my sport."
Dana White warned to 'sleep with one eye open' by Eddie Hearn
The UFC and Matchroom bosses have enjoyed a friendly working relationship for the past several years, with both promoters exceedingly complimentary about each other's workflow.
However, now that he's entered the boxing scene as a potential rival, Eddie Hearn has warned Dana White about both the strength of schedule and about sleeping 'with one eye open'.
"Boxing is the worst business in the world," Hearn stated during a recent interview with iFL TV.
"I hope these guys have got the appetite to be up all f—— night and sleep with one eye open every single day… Because you're not going to get control where you can go to bed at 10 o'clock [at night] and wake up at 8 o'clock [in the morning] and expect the industry and your situation to be exactly the same.
"It doesn't work like that. Every f—– is out there hustling every single day. Guess what? I'm one of them," laughed the Matchroom boss.
In a recent rant, boxing legend Paulie Malignaggi argued that White is going solo and won't work with other promoters like Hearn and that the whole sport will suffer as a result.
