Famed Boxing Promoter Savagely Shreds UFC’s Dana White

Hall of Fame boxing promoter Bob Arum savagely ripped UFC president Dana White over the UFC continuing to promote fights in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“(White) ought to be ashamed of himself,” Arum said on CBS Sports’ State of Combat podcast. “What’s going on in this country and the world with this virus, the last thing we need is for an event to take place with no spectators just to get the event to take place.”

While most other combat sports companies across MMA and boxing have basically shut down their operations for at least the next month or so, White has continued to plow forward with his plans to make fights.

In fact, White still aims to make his next pay-per-view event UFC 249 happen on April 18. Arum, who has promoted some of the most famous boxers in history, including Muhammad Ali, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., doesn’t believe that’s the smart move.

“But the truth is Dana White is somebody with flawed intelligence,” Arum said.

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Arum Has ‘No Idea’ When Boxing Will Start Up Again

Arum revealed his company’s plans during the coronavirus outbreak were starkly different than the UFC’s.

“People ask me what plans I’m making for these fights when we’ll get the all-clear,” Arum said. “Because I don’t know when the all-clear is going to be, and I have no idea whether it will be two months, three months or even the rest of the year.”

Arum founded Top Rank, Inc. in 1966. In addition to promoting Ali, Pacquiao and Mayweather, Arum has promoted nearly 10,000 fights, some of which included many of boxing’s biggest superstars in their most important fights.

In fact, Arum has also promoted the likes of George Foreman, Roberto Duran, Marvin Haggler and Sugar Ray Leonard, and those are just some of the all-time great boxers Top Rank has promoted during more than 50 years in the sport.

And Arum was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 1999.

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Arum Promotes Tyson Fury, Vasyl Lomachenko and Other Top Stars

Top Rank’s stable currently includes WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, unified lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko, WBO welterweight titleholder Terence Crawford and several other notable champs.

Additionally, Top Rank signed an exclusive four-year programming deal with ESPN in 2017 to help bring boxing back into more homes across the nation.

Still, don’t ask Arum when any of the fighters he promotes are going to be headed back into the boxing ring. Unlike White, Arum doesn’t believe thinking about those types of things right now makes a whole lot of sense.

And actually trying to promote big fights? Even crazier.

“I’m not making any plans right now,” Arum said. “When this thing looks like it’s clearing up, we will start making plans.”

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Twitter: @Kelsey_McCarson

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