"UFC has never done a $20M gate" - Stephen Espinoza boasts about boxing's financial success, says UFC can't compete
Stephen Espinoza and Dana White have not been shy in expressing that they are not fond of one another. The Showtime Sports president recently took a shot at the UFC while flaunting the recent success of boxing.
Speaking at the press conference for this weekend's highly-anticipated boxing match between Canelo Alvarez and Jermell Charlo, Espinoza discussed the expected gate of the bout. Michael Benson of talkSPORT shared his comments, tweeting:
"Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza firing shots back at Dana White at the Canelo Alvarez vs Jermell Charlo press conference: “Not all combat sports is the same. No disrespect to anyone, but there are levels to this. This event will generate a gate (money from ticket sales) of over $20million. Our third $20million+ gate in the last six months. To put that in perspective - the UFC has never done a $20million gate in its entire history. We’ve done it three times since April.”
Check out Michael Benson's tweet below:
In addition to the bout between Alvarez and Charlo, the two events Espinoza is referring to include Gervonta Davis' seventh-round knockout victory over Ryan Garcia and Terence Crawford's ninth-round TKO victory over Errol Spence. The first bout sold over 1.2 million pay-per-views while having a gate of $22.8 million. The latter bout sold over $700,000 pay-per-views while having a gate of more than $21 million.
Dana White recently used sarcasm to take a shot at Stephen Espinoza
There have been rumors circulating that Showtime Sports could be leaving the boxing industry. While it is unclear if there is any merit to the rumors, UFC CEO Dana White was asked about them in the Dana White's Contender Series post-fight press conference, responding sarcastically before expressing his true feelings:
"That's incredibly unfortunate. The production of that show is fantastic. The guy who runs Showtime Boxing is a great human being. It's unfortunate to hear this. F**k Espinoza and it's about time that that s**tty product is off the air."
Check out Dana White's comments on Stephen Espinoza and Showtime Boxing below:
After a reporter suggested that there could be a gap in the market, which could be filled by a newly formed company, White suggested that the idea sounds good. While the UFC has been able to dominate the mixed martial arts market, it is unclear if the promotion would look to enter the boxing business. One thing that is clear, however, is that the promotional frontman would be happy if Showtime Boxing left the business.