Oscar De La Hoya insists he is open to working with bitter rival Dana White as ’80 per cent of the promoters in boxing are crooks anyway’.
MMA mogul White officially entered the boxing sphere last month after years of teasing the idea.
GETTY/Instagram – Oscar De La HoyaDe La Hoya is happy to work with White despite their differences[/caption]
The UFC president has joined forces with the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh, to launch their own boxing league, TKO Boxing.
White has set out ambitious plans to monopolise boxing by adopting the UFC model, but De La Hoya insists White’s new venture won’t get off the ground unless they bump up their pay scales.
A report from Boxing Scene revealed that TKO Boxing are offering a base pay of $20,000 for unranked fighters, increasing depending on ranking and championship challenges, with a top purse of $750,000 for defending the TKO Boxing championship.
World champions in boxing often rake in seven and eight-figure paydays, and De La Hoya, a former six-weight world champion himself, insists the top fighters in the sport will be put off by the money being put on the table by TKO.
During a scathing two-minute rant posted to his social media, De La Hoya said: “Speaking of scumbags, everyone is asking me for my opinion on Dana White trying to enter the boxing space again.
“After collecting as much information as possible, I’m finally ready to answer.
“Here’s the truth: you can’t run a boxing organization when you don’t have any fighters. Right now, Dana White and TKO don’t have any fighters.
“This means they’re likely in it for the long haul and trying to build something years from now when fighters’ contracts come up with current promoters. They will try to sign them.
“What else do we know: TKO’s supposed fighter pay/salaries were leaked a few weeks ago.
“If these are real, s***. Dana is gonna have several problems. No fighter is going to fight for pennies.
“The majority of their prospects will fight one or two times a year and be forced to survive on minimum pay.
“Keep in mind, they will be fighting tough fights. Dana says the best must fight the best. So, their careers will be short.
“No pay-per-view fighter will fight for $750,000. You’re telling me the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Ryan Garcia will agree to that pay cut. No.
“Most importantly, if these numbers are real, the UFC fighters will be so p***** that the TKO fighters are getting paid so much more than they are.
“UFC fighters are already disgusted with how little they get paid for putting their lives on the line.
“Dana White has tried to get into the boxing space several times and failed. Remember Zuffa? That never even got off the ground.
“When Dana doesn’t have the funding and business brains like the Fertittas and Turki Alalshikh, he always fails.
“As for Dana’s character, it speaks for itself. I don’t even have to say anything about a guy whose own mother wrote a book about what a terrible person her son is.”
White has made it crystal clear that he doesn’t want to work with De La Hoya or Top Rank’s Bob Arum, having feuded with both over the years.
However, De La Hoya is far more open to the idea.
“Will I work with Dana in the future if he’s in boxing?” De La Hoya asked rhetorically. “Sure, because 80 percent of the people I deal with in boxing are crooks anyway.”
