UFC President Dana White and longtime boxing promoter Bob Arum are having a war of words in the wake of the UFC announcing its move to the Fox Network. As if it wasn’t bad enough for the sport of boxing that the UFC is striking deals with major networks in order to bring the product to the general public free of charge, the first event that will air on Fox is happening the same evening as Manny Pacquiao’s fight against Juan Manuel Marquez.
Although the UFC and boxing are certainly competing for the dollar of the general sporting public, White willingly modified the card for UFC on Fox 1, shrinking the televised action from several hours to only one in order to wrap up the highly-anticipated event before Pacquiao steps into the ring. Though obviously irked by the situation, Arum said in a published interview that the UFC event would have no impact at all on the Pacquiao pay-per-view fight, going on to add that Fox could garner a larger audience by showing a movie.
Naturally, White wan’t going to sit on his hands after being poked by the aging promoter, quickly sending a verbal volley directly at Arum that didn’t mince words. “You are a greedy pig, just like all the other guys who were involved in boxing. All you ever did was try to rip money out of it. You have never invested in the sport of boxing to make it better, to make it last, to create a future for boxing,” White said of Arum.
While the feud is noteworthy and even a bit entertaining, both men are wise and savvy enough to know that it creates media exposure, which is highly beneficial in generating revenue for both the UFC and professional boxing.
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