Getty Dana White, president of the UFC, speaks at a press conference for UFC 111 at Radio City Music Hall on March 24, 2010, in New York City.
UFC president Dana White took aim at boxing promoter Bob Arum while speaking with the media on Tuesday night, November 17. Arum is the CEO of Top Rank and currently promotes WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford, who retained his title on November 14 when he defeated Kell Brook at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with a TKO in round four.
Crawford is 37-0 in his professional boxing career and one of the best talents in the sport. However, Arum recently told The Athletic that he has lost money promoting “Bud.”
Although Crawford is a top pound-for-pound boxer, Arum has not been impressed with Bud’s drawing power and the revenue he has generated for Top Rank. According to Bleacher Report, Crawford’s contract with Top Rank ends in October 2021, and Arum said the boxer needs to promote himself.
“The question is, ‘Do we want to keep him?’” Arum said. “I could build a house in Beverly Hills on the money I’ve lost on him in the last three fights.”
During Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series post-fight press conference, White unloaded on Arum for making the comment about Crawford.
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Dana White on Arum: ‘Are You F****** Kidding Me?’
GettyTop Rank Founder and CEO Bob Arum speaks during a news conference for the heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Otto Wallin at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on September 11, 2019, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
White took issue with Arum saying that he could build a house in Beverly Hills with the amount of money he’s lost because of Crawford.
“Can you imagine if I said that?” White said via MMA Junkie. “Are you (expletive) kidding me? You guys would murder me if I said that. I’d never hear the end of that. That’s what you do. That’s not (Crawford’s) (expletive) problem, that’s your problem.”
White continued, saying it is Arum’s job to promote Crawford:
His problem isn’t to figure out how you make money. You (expletive) signed a deal with this kid, at how many people we have on the roster, our roster is very inflated right now. We have a very big roster, the biggest roster we’ve ever had in the history of the company. I have to pay all these kids. How I pay them is not their (expletive) problem. It’s my (expletive) problem.
Imagine me saying ‘oh, I gotta pay Conor McGregor this much money, I could have built a house in Beverly Hills.’ Shut the (expletive) up, you (expletive) scumbag. Pay your (expletive) fighter what you owe him, do your job. Bob Arum is a piece of (expletive) (expletive).
Dana White went *OFF* on Bob Arum for his recent comments about Terence Crawford: “Piece of f*cking sh*t.” 😳
#DWCS | Full interview: t.co/DLO6rlNabI
White wasn’t the only person to condemn Arum’s comments about Crawford. Rival promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing said during an interview on The Ak & Barak Show that Arum’s comments were “so disrespectful to Terence Crawford. … You can see by that interview, that relationship is over,” according to Boxing Scene. Hearn continued, “I love Terence Crawford. I think he’s great. I just think he’s lost a little bit of his mojo. For me, the last thing you want as a fighter … is your promoter standing there and saying ‘Well, he’s not just really worth it.’”
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Next Event: UFC 255 Takes Place on Saturday, November 21
The next UFC event takes place on Saturday, November 21. The pay-per-view, UFC 255, is headlined by a men’s flyweight showdown between champion Deiveson Figueiredo and No. 4 ranked Alex Perez. It is the “God of War’s” first title defense since winning the vacant belt in July against Joseph Benavidez.
In the co-main event, dominant women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will look to make her fourth title defense when she takes on No. 3 ranked Jennifer Maia.
In the featured bout on the main card, welterweight star Mike Perry will fight “The Dirty Bird,” Tim Means.
ESPN reported on November 15 that Crawford had been scheduled to fight Manny Pacquiao in “an unspecified country in the Middle East” this weekend but the fight fell through because COVID-19 restrictions wouldn’t allow spectators. According to Arum, “overseas officials were willing to resume talks about a spring 2021 fight if Crawford beat Brook,” ESPN reported. Fans will have to continue to wait for a match-up between Crawford and IBF champion Errol Spence Jr.; Arum said he believes “Errol Spence will try to avoid Terence Crawford as long as he can because he knows he can’t beat Terence Crawford,” according to ESPN.
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