Dana White has strongly criticized the way professional boxing operates while defending Zuffa Boxing against allegations from Don King Productions over Noel Mikaelian.
DKP sent TKO Group Holdings a cease-and-desist letter claiming it holds exclusive worldwide promotional rights to Mikaelian and alleging that Zuffa interfered with that agreement by arranging his fight with Jai Opetaia.
White rejected the accusation and said Zuffa would not knowingly interfere with another promoter’s contract. “We would never go into a fight where we didn’t have the rights to do the fight and the contract wasn’t valid,” he said.
He then used the dispute to criticize the broader boxing business. “This sport is the most unsophisticated sport that I have ever seen,” White said, adding that boxing’s problems exist “for a reason.”
White also stressed that he has previously had good dealings with Don King and denied that Zuffa has a history of trying to take fighters who remain under contract elsewhere.
The dispute centers on who has the contractual right to promote Mikaelian and negotiate his boxing services. Zuffa maintains that its agreement allowing Mikaelian to face Opetaia is valid, while DKP argues that any deal made without its written consent is void.
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