Dana White’s latest venture into boxing alongside Turki Alalshikh has been met with a mix of excitement and skepticism. Some see it as a fresh start for a sport in need of structure, while others believe White is simply trying to copy-paste the UFC business model into a world where it just won’t fit. And if there’s one person who isn’t thrilled about the move, it’s Oscar De La Hoya.
De La Hoya’s raising serious concerns with White’s involvement with the sport—mainly about fighter pay. Given the UFC’s history of controversy surrounding fighter compensation, De La Hoya believes the UFC bossman’s presence in boxing could ignite a fighter pay war, further complicating an already messy sport.
The Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, commonly known as the Ali Act, was enacted in 2000 to protect boxers from exploitative practices by ensuring financial transparency and preventing coercive contracts.
Earlier this year, TKO (UFC’s parent company) CEO Ari Emanuel’s statement about issues with the act had rung some alarm bells among pugilism enthusiasts and practitioners alike. It also adds to the tension that White has openly criticized boxing’s pay structure, labeling top earners as “overpaid” and suggesting that such payouts were unsustainable for the sport.
As he aims to introduce a new boxing league, concerns mount regarding how his business model will align with the protections afforded by the Ali Act and what it would mean for fair compensation in the sport.
“Dana White does not know boxing. We have had interesting people come into the sport over the years trying to do their own way and trying to change the sport of boxing.”, De La Hoya said, addressing these concerns with the new players in the game.
“Obviously we all want boxing to grow, to get better. And to make sure that the fighters are always paid well that is the most important thing about boxing is that fighters are getting paid, unlike the UFC.”, he added.
❌ “Dana White doesn’t know boxing!”- Oscar De La Hoya
Does Oscar have a strong argument? What do you think? #Boxing pic.twitter.com/0rTRuvh4in
— Fight Hub TV (@FightHubTV) March 19, 2025
While it remains to be seen how White entering boxing plays out, it should be noted that De La Hoya had also once tried to challenge the UFC boss by entering MMA as a promoter. As you might have imagined, ot did not work out too well.
De La Hoya blamed White for MMA failure
In 2018, boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya ventured into mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion with the launch of Golden Boy MMA. The inaugural event, held on November 24, 2018, featured a trilogy bout between UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He also reportedly almost had Georges St-Pierre fighting on the card.
Despite the high-profile main event, the promotion faced significant challenges. The Golden Boys boss would later blame White’s monopolistic influence on the sport for the failure. In an interview with Ariel Helwani in 2023, he admitted that while this was not a sport he was keenly knowledgeable about, it was a great experience.
“We had the arena jam-packed; pay-per-views didn’t do too well for certain reasons, certain cable operators weren’t working with us, but I think it’s just because I received too much heat from Dana White.”, he said, squarely dumping the blame on the UFC boss.
Regardless of the reasons, it does seem that the boxing promoter certainly underestimated how difficult it would be to go up against established players in a sport. So, the question is -will White learn a similar lesson? Or will Alalshikh be able to help him ride out the storm he now finds himself in?
