The president of Top Rank Todd duBoef does not hold back in his thoughts about ZUFFA Boxing and Dana White’s entrance into boxing.
Whilst Dana White has insisted to judge ZUFFA Boxing’s product in 12 months time, they have caused immense disruption in the first few months of 2026.
Last weekend saw Jai Opetaia (30-0, 23ko’s) defeat Brandon Glanton (21-4, 18ko’s) via unanimous decision to become the inaugural ZUFFA Boxing world champion.
The ZUFFA belt is what has caused the majority of controversy.
Dana White and ZUFFA have publicly declared their intention to disregard the four recognised governing bodies, the WBC, WBO, WBA, and IBF.
This venture into boxing is financially supported by SELA and Turki Al-Sheikh.
Another intention is to revolutionise what they deem a ‘broken’ sport.
Controversially, ZUFFA have pledged for amendments to the Muhammed Ali act in the States.
This act is in place to ensure that fighters have the right to know the finances available for the event they are fighting on.
Criticism from existing promoters like Eddie Hearn and Oscar De La Hoya has sparked into a fully fledged battle between the so called ‘old guard’ and the ‘new kids on the block’.
President of American powerhouse promotion Top Rank Todd duBoef has discussed his thoughts on ZUFFA Boxing on The Ariel Helwani Show.
duBoef labelled Dana White “hypocritical” for pushing for amendments to the Muhammed Ali act.
“They have wrestling, the UFC, and now they want boxing”.
“And they say, we want to play, but we want to change the rules for us and nobody else”.
“I saw Dana call somebody a p*ssy, that seems like a f*cking p*ssy, I don’t understand that”.
“If you want to get in the sport, come into the sport, come into it the way we’re all operating”.
“But they are very powerful, they are well connected, I can’t figure out what path they’re taking”.
Top Rank have recently announced a long-term partnership with DAZN, now sharing a platform with Matchroom Boxing, Queensberry Promotions, and Golden Boy Promotions.
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