Marking Zuffa Boxing’s third match, Dana White declared that his new enterprise is “like punching a child” in terms of competing with established boxing promoters, additional reinforcing his plans to disregard conventional sanctioning our bodies and function on his personal phrases.
zuffa boxing
Zuffa Boxing 03 befell on February 15, 2026 on the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, airing on Paramount+ and headlined by heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba and former IBF champion Charles Martin, persevering with the promotion’s enlargement into a number of worldwide markets.
White famous that Zuffa Boxing is already distributed on tv and on Paramount in the USA in “18 territories around the globe,” a quantity that has grown quickly for the reason that promotion’s first two occasions. He instructed reporters that he needed individuals within the boxing world to “consider our physique of labor” on the finish of the 12 months somewhat than after three performances.
Dana White: Hitting the infant
On the Zuffa Boxing 03 post-fight press convention, White was requested what sort of resistance he encountered from conventional boxing organizations. “There was no backlash,” he replied, earlier than including, “That is like hitting a child. I really feel like I am coming in and hitting a child. I used to be anticipating extra. I used to be anticipating some backlash. I used to be anticipating them to play extra video games. That is fully out of their league. Completely, clearly out of their league. I am really slightly shocked.”
He branded his rivals’ reactions cowardly and prompt that present promoters do not know the best way to compete with an built-in mannequin backed by TKO Group and the UFC’s occasion infrastructure.
White’s feedback got here after weeks of public exchanges with WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman and distinguished promoters Eddie Hearn and Oscar De La Hoya, who’ve criticized each Zuffa’s signature championship belt and the choice to bypass boxing’s 4 main sanctioning our bodies.
Hearn lately referred to as Zuffa’s belt “disgusting,” whereas the WBC issued a proper response warning that White’s plan to disregard organizations such because the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF might isolate Zuffa fighters from sanctioned world titles. Sulaiman additionally accused Zuffa Boxing of “bullying” in coming into the game, a cost White rejected, insisting that the Ali Act would stay in place and that fighters would keep present authorized protections.
White claimed he was in a roundabout way attacking organizations such because the WBC and IBF, however somewhat selecting to bypass them. “Everyone knows this has been damaged for a very long time. I stated what I used to be going to do,” he stated.
“I’ve by no means stated something unhealthy in regards to the WBC or IBF or any of them. I simply stated I am not going to do enterprise with them. I’ll do my very own factor.” He argued that by staying in the identical lane, he was changing into “a part of the issue” and contrasted this along with his personal claims that Zuffa Boxing intends to “change the entire sport” by way of constant matchmaking, centralized titles and long-term funding in fighters.
On the identical time, White downplayed considerations that Zuffa Boxing goals to take over boxing or strip energy from present fighters, saying there’s room for various fashions to coexist. He reiterated that promoters like Hahn and De La Hoya nonetheless have the assets to compete however lack “imaginative and prescient” and are targeted on constructing the occasion.
