Matchroom Boxing’s Frank Smith shared an assessment of Dana White’s recent Zuffa Boxing Q&A and approach to boxing during an interview with iFL TV after a fight night.
Reflecting on the Q&A, Smith didn’t hold back in his criticism. “I actually watched the bits of the Q&A they did yesterday. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said.
When asked why White appeared so combative with the boxing media, Smith suggested it may have been due to the environment and expectations around the event.
“Because he’s probably thinking, ‘What am I doing in Bournemouth on a Saturday night?’ Respectfully, this guy is obviously worth five, six… with a product that he can’t even sell out more than two and a half thousand tickets.”
Smith also contrasted White’s media style with that of traditional boxing promoters. “He’s so aggressive. And he also doesn’t like… in the UFC, a lot of those reporters, if they ask a question he doesn’t like, they won’t be back and they won’t get access to him.”
He continued, “Whereas we sit and answer questions whatever you ask, and you’re always here, and we just have to answer the questions. I think it’s very different in their world,” he explained.
Turning his attention to the overall Zuffa Boxing product, Smith was equally direct.
“The product doesn’t wow me. If you can’t sell out two and a half thousand tickets, you’re doing something wrong. Ben Shalom’s obviously a better promoter than Dana White,” he said.
On UFC pay, Smith referenced ongoing legal and revenue discussions around the promotion.
“Figh ters in the UFC are criminally underpaid, right? On the basis of the revenue of the business, and that’s been proven by an antitrust case where they had to pay 375 million out just in one case,” he said.
He continued by expanding on the revenue split issue, saying, “He sits there and says people should be happy for athletes getting paid. So all people are saying is, pay UFC fighters what they deserve. They get paid 18% of the revenue. That’s all it is,” he said.
He continued, “Eddie’s view is just pay Tom Aspinall what he deserves. If you generate $50 million in revenue, like if it was in boxing, someone generated that much money, they’d be on 60, 70, 80%. That’s the reality of it.”
