It is no secret that longtime boxing promoter Bob Arum isn’t much of a fan of the UFC or mixed martial arts in general.
UFC President Dana White recently shed some criticism on the sport of boxing and Arum believes that White’s doing that because the UFC is in desperation mode.
“You have to understand, UFC is a monopoly. The money they earn on a fight because they pay their athletes 20 percent of the gross, we pay around 80 percent, what they say they’re investing back in the business, they’re investing in themselves. They put money in their pockets! That’s not investing in anything. In boxing, there are a large number of promoters, and when a promoter has a successful event and there’s a profit he earns, he puts it back in the company. What the f**k is White talking about? White is speaking from desperation now, he’s the spokesperson for what could be a failing business,” Arum said to NY Fights.
White recently stated that he could see boxing under the UFC umbrella one day, but Arum has yet to comment on that.
Arum even says that about a year ago, the UFC brass approached him about buying Top Rank Promotions.
“My thoughts are that UFC is desperate. Their numbers are way off, they have no marquee star. Look at their PPV numbers. They barely break 100,000 homes on their shows. They’re having trouble getting renewal on their contract with FOX. They have to do something. One of things they may try and fall back on and try and acquire a boxing presence. About a year ago, I was approached by someone repping UFC, they wanted to buy Top Rank,” says Arum.
The longtime boxing promoter was also critical of this past August’s super fight between UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather, which Mayweather won by tenth round TKO.
