Former British boxing world champion George Groves thinks Dana White is bad for boxing.
Earlier this year, White announced that he was finally taking the leap from the Octagon to the squared circle. His currently untitled promotion will look to revolutionize the centuries-old sport by using his UFC model to streamline things, effectively cutting out the four major sanctioning bodies (WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO) who oversee professional bouts and world championships.
Of course, not everyone is thrilled with the idea. In particular, promoters and purists of the sweet science, like Groves, who recently cast doubt on White’s ability to compete in the world of boxing.
“The money that the UFC fighters are paid compared to boxers is incomparable — it’s peanuts,” Groves said during a recent Midnite Q&A event. That’s why anyone that gets a big enough name in the UFC transitions over to boxing, like Conor McGregor or whatnot.
“I wouldn’t say he is good for boxing, but that’s from a boxer’s point of view and not a fan’s point of view. But I don’t think he’ll be able to complete boxing, I don’t think anyone can.”
Groves cautions promoters from pushing Boxing Prospects too far, too fast
One of the biggest criticisms surrounding the sport over the years was the lack of big-money matchups. Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, has attempted to change that, throwing millions of dollars into making fights like September’s clash between Canelo Alvarez and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford a reality.
However, Groves cautions promoters from pushing up-and-coming talent too soon, believing that fighters need to be built up to maximize their money-making potential.
“I always look at boxing from the boxer’s point of view and not the fan’s point of view,” Groves added. “To get the very best fights, you have to build fighters properly to get them being at their very best. So all these ‘Records don’t matter, put them in early,’ you ruin fighters by putting them in early in too tougher tests or 50/50 fights. Someone’s going to suffer.”
