Dana White has defended himself and his promotional outfit, Zuffa Boxing, following an outburst from Roy Jones Jr.
White has caused plenty of disruption in a short space of time with his move into boxing. The American boss of the UFC first made waves by signing up Conor Benn on a huge one-fight deal, seemingly stealing him away from his long-time promoter and friend, Eddie Hearn.
He has since also signed the likes of Jai Opetaia and Chris Billam Smith, and Jones feels that if he goes on to run boxing, it will erase much of the history of the sport, including the sanctioning bodies and the ability for the best fighters to unify belts and become undisputed.
Speaking to Fight Hub TV, White gave his counter-view to Jones’s criticisms.
“I think everybody is going to have opinions. And especially the traditional guys who came up the way that they did. I don’t know whose a** you gotta kiss around here to get fights. When Roy says something like you gotta kiss their a** to do this or that, if you asked any of the fighters, they would say we treated them very well, like professional athletes.
“Any interactions that I have had have been nothing but respectful so I don’t know where that’s coming from. But I do like Roy. But everybody is entitled to their opinions. When you come into a business and you start to cause disruption, you’re going to ruffle some feathers; it’s going to happen.”
Despite the controversy, Zuffa has hosted six cards so far and White has said he expects that many more fighters will join as the company continues to expand.
