Dana White’s entry into boxing sparks ‘bold’ one-liner from superstar Ryan Garcia

Superstar Ryan Garcia questions Dana White's new promotion by comparing the pay structure in UFC and boxing.

Dana White’s entry into boxing sparks ‘bold’ one-liner from superstar Ryan Garcia

Ryan Garcia shows concern over Dana White's boxing move (via Imago/X)

Dana White has always loved boxing but focused on making the top MMA promotion with the UFC. Now, he is entering the boxing world, which could shake things up for the sport’s future. Meanwhile, boxing superstar Ryan Garcia has his own issues, making this an interesting time for the fight game.

White recently announced his boxing promotion, a collaboration between TKO Group and Saudi promoter Turki Alalshikh. According to reports, White along with WWE President, Nick Khan, will take care of the operations going forward. While talking about the announcement in a recent interview, Ryan Garcia shared his only doubt about White’s plan. 


If they pay like UFC though, we might not like it.

Ryan Garcia via The Schmo’s YouTube channel 
YouTube video

Garcia, however, has a positive outlook on the situation and is hyped about Dana White’s latest endeavor. He believes White and Alalshikh’s involvement will benefit boxing as a whole. Garcia is currently scheduled to fight Rolly Romero on May 2 at Times Square, New York.

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However, as Garcia mentioned, boxers generally earn more than MMA fighters due to big money involved. Top boxers negotiate bigger fight purses, while MMA promotions, like White’s UFC, control fighter pay. White never liked this system and always bashed it whenever given a chance, and Eddie Hearn was never a fan of it. 

Top promoter shared his opinion on Dana White’s boxing move 

Dana White has always criticized boxing promotions for prioritizing short-term profits, neglecting long-term sport growth. He was firmly against boxing’s fragmented structure and promotional disputes which prevented elite fighters from constantly competing against top challenges. White believed boxing promoters allow fighter pay disparities.

Eddie Hearn talks about Dana White's entrance in boxing
Eddie Hearn talks about Dana White’s entrance in boxing (via X)

White has also publicly slammed top promoters such as Bob Arum for his inefficiency over the years. According to White, Turki Alalshikh is different and thinks about the future. However, top British promoter Eddie Hearn has a slight difference in opinion. 

I think it’s great for boxing. One thing I disagree with, is boxing’s not broken. Boxing is in a great place, it always has been. There’s always ways we can improve it, but the fact those guys want to come into boxing shows where it’s at.

Eddie Hearn via 5 Live Boxing with Steve Bunce 

Nevertheless, for Dana White‘s first big event, top superstar Canelo Alvarez is expected to fight. The Mexican champion is scheduled to fight William Scull for the Cinco de Mayo weekend. It would be interesting to see if the mega fight will be possible for White’s dream start in boxing.

Why are UFC fighters inclined towards boxing bout?

Boxing is one of the oldest sports in the world, and has a huge history and fan base all around the world. In comparison, UFC became mainstream the last two decades and is currently behind boxing in global appeal. However, UFC superstars such as Jon Jones, Alex Pereira, Conor McGregor, and others are equally or even more popular as superstar boxers. 


Pereira recently talked about fighting the heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in a boxing match and the Ukrainian was also interested. Similarly, Conor McGregor has been a part of one of the biggest pay-per-view boxing events in history. Recently, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou also participated in two high-profile boxing events, which further solidified the popularity of UFC fighters.

UFC fighters are interested in boxing debut
UFC fighters are interested in boxing debut (via X)

Ngannou reportedly made much more money in his single boxing bout than he made in his entire UFC career. Disparity such as this is the main reason why many UFC fighters are interested in taking part in boxing. Every time a UFC champion comes to the top, he aspires for a boxing debut.

Former champions such as Sean O’Malley and Kamaru Usman are clear examples of this. However, it doesn’t look like Dana White will allow fighters to compete in his boxing promotion. As such, any such crossover fight remains out of sight.

Related: Dana White’s Parents: Did they have a good relationship with the UFC CEO?