Ahead of Terence Crawford vs. Canelo Alvarez, Mauricio Sulaiman was apprehensive. As relations between him and Dana White, who oversaw the superfight, deteriorated, reports suggested Sulaiman might not be able to follow the long-held tradition of presenting the WBC belt to the winner. “If you have two or three securities, I am still putting the WBC belt on the winner,” he said. Ultimately, Sulaiman managed to enter the ring and present the iconic green-and-gold belt to Crawford. Yet his apprehension regarding White and Zuffa Boxing does not appear to have subsided.

A new round of criticism followed as Mauricio Sulaiman took aim at Dana White and Zuffa Boxing ahead of their first event under the Paramount+ deal. However, White surprised many by responding on social media.

Dana White answers Mauricio Sulaiman’s accusations

Responding to an Instagram post by Boxing Social that featured Sulaiman’s comments, White wrote, “I’m not saying I’m taking over anything. The Ali Act will be intact; not one word will be changed. Fighters can still fight under that.”

White added that traditional sanctioning bodies, including Sulaiman’s WBC, the WBA, the IBF, and the WBO, would continue operating as they do now. “I’m just doing something different. Who am I bullying?” White said. He added promoters such as Oscar De La Hoya, Eddie Hearn, Bob Arum’s Top Rank, and others would continue business as usual.

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To that end, White and his team appear to have softened their earlier stance on working with established sanctioning bodies. Questions were raised recently when IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia became the first reigning world champion to join the Zuffa roster.

The move drew scrutiny, though. Opetaia has consistently spoken about his goal of unifying the division. But his ambition seemed at odds with White’s earlier comments. Recent reports, however, suggest Zuffa may ease its terms, allowing champions such as Opetaia to pursue unification while competing under the promotion’s banner.

White’s remarks followed Sulaiman’s growing frustration with boxing’s newest entrant. For him, it was not merely the action itself, but the manner in which White and his team approached it that caused concern.

Mauricio Sulaiman targets White and Zuffa while defending tradition

“Well, it’s very unfortunate that Dana White and all his team have taken this route to try to come in and bully and be so aggressive,” Sulaiman told Boxing Social. “There’s no need for aggressiveness. They can do their boxing league, and they can do whatever they do.”

To support his argument, Sulaiman pointed to several examples involving rising contenders who have sought to make their mark by pursuing, or holding, WBC titles at the world or regional level.

Sulaiman cited the case of Callum Walsh. The Irish fighter currently holds the WBC Continental Americas super welterweight title and is scheduled to headline Zuffa Boxing I on Jan. 23. Sulaiman argued that Zuffa is “using” Walsh for its debut event, despite him standing within the WBC system.

He also pointed to Dalton Smith, who recently defeated Subriel Matias for the WBC junior welterweight title, and Conor Benn, who is pursuing a WBC welterweight title shot, to underscore that traditional belts remain in demand. Given their history and tradition, Sulaiman suggested there is little room for a new promotion – read Zuffa – to introduce what he viewed as unnecessary negativity. He compared Zuffa to a ‘minor’ league but said he wished the promotion success and hoped it would benefit fighters.

Sulaiman’s criticism comes at a time when White and his team have scored another win in their push for the proposed Ali Revival Act. Reports indicate the bill has cleared the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.