Oscar De La Hoya gets 100% real about Dana White venturing into boxing, lists problems with TKO's boxing league
Oscar De La Hoya recently shared his unfiltered perspective on Dana White’s official venture into the boxing world. Last month, the UFC CEO teamed up with Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman, Turki Alalshikh, to launch a high-profile boxing league under the TKO banner.
The newly formed promotion aims to bring structure to the boxing industry through a streamlined development system focused on supporting emerging talent from around the world.
However, De La Hoya, who has a well-documented history of friction with White, believes the UFC head honcho lacks a true understanding of boxing and is confident that the venture is destined to fail.
'Golden Boy' recently took to social media to deliver sharp criticism of White and his entry into boxing, taking jabs at the MMA promoter while claiming that the new boxing league is missing a clear sense of direction. He said:
"Speaking of scum bags, everyone is asking me for my opinion on Dana White trying to enter the boxing space again... You can’t run a boxing organization when you don’t have any fighters. Right now, Dana White and TKO don’t have any fighters."
De La Hoya also criticized the boxing league’s allegedly leaked pay structure and argued that it offers significantly lower compensation compared to what top-tier boxers typically earn:
"No fighter is going to fight for pennies. The majority of their prospects will fight one or two times a year and be forced to survive on minimum pay. Keep in mind, they will be fighting tough fights. Dana says the best must fight the best. So, their careers will be short."
Check out Oscar De La Hoya's comments below (1:38):
When Oscar De La Hoya opened up about the fallout with Dana White
Oscar De La Hoya and Dana White have largely remained in their respective domains of boxing and MMA throughout their careers as promoters. However, there have been exceptions.
De La Hoya once made an unsuccessful foray into MMA through his Golden Boy Promotions, a venture that failed to gain traction. On the other hand, White had long hinted at launching a Zuffa Boxing project, but it never materialized.
During his appearance on the Club Shay Shay podcast in August 2024, 'Golden Boy' explained that he initially held no personal grudge against White. However, their relationship began to deteriorate after the UFC CEO publicly criticized De La Hoya’s brief venture into MMA:
"Just because I wanted to start a little competition, he gets all. 'Let me scream louder.’ I mean, when a guy slaps his wife in public — when his mom writes a book about him saying that he’s a douche ... his own mom? That’s all I have to say. I don’t have to say anything more. I don’t know why it started, I mean the promotional thing, but we were actually pretty cool. But anyway."
Check out Oscar De La Hoya's comments below (1:11:25):