While Dana White is grappling with Shakur Stevenson‘s exit, the biggest name on the Zuffa roster, Bob Arum is gearing up for what many see as a potential “Fight of the Year” contender. With Saudi funding potentially slowing, the veteran promoter, who has been in the business for over four decades and staged some of the sport’s biggest and most memorable events, believes White could face legal challenges that complicate his plans to transform boxing.

“The problem is that the Saudis have thrown a lot of money into the sport of boxing, which in a way is a very good thing,” Arum told Sean Zittel in a recent interview.

Tomorrow evening, Emanuel Navarrete and O’Shaquie Foster, two of the biggest names in the super featherweight division, will meet in a title unification in San Antonio, Texas.

Both champions are promoted by his Top Rank, making it easier for Arum and his team to put together a fight many fans had been asking for. The matchup, however, stands in contrast to a trend that has been developing in boxing for some time: prominent fighters avoiding one another.

While acknowledging that Saudi funding has helped bring major boxing matches to fruition, Arum believes the enormous guarantees offered to fighters have created an unsustainable financial environment.

“If you’re going to run these promotions and hope to make a profit from it, you can’t continue to pay these persons,” he added.

“Recently, the Saudis have backed off, and they’re being very particular about how they spend their money. And so that allows a promoter like Top Rank to get two guys like Navarrete and Foster together, pay them top dollar, and get a good match. That’s the importance: getting the top guys to fight each other in an entertaining match.”

Turning to White and Stevenson’s exit, Arum suggested that Zuffa likely expected outside investors to bankroll its expansion and support lucrative fighter agreements. However, with Saudi spending reportedly becoming more selective, he doubts if Zuffa can maintain those commitments without generating sufficient revenue.

“You can’t have a contract with a fighter to pay him $15 million, no matter who he’s going to fight, and hope to do it profitably,” he said.

“It just won’t work. So they had a contract with Shakur, and they mutually agree to break the contract. But the contract never made any sense. I mean, $15 million, where is it going to come from? I mean, at the end of the day, if it’s going to be a business, the numbers got to make sense.”

Beyond those financial concerns, Arum’s comments also raise questions about how Zuffa’s boxing operations could affect UFC fighter compensation.

Bob Arum sees tough questions awaiting Dana White from UFC fighters

“If Zuffa continues in boxing and spends money that it would take to promote these fights, they’re going to sure as hell get a lawsuit from their fighters, and they can easily prove to a judge that they’re being underpaid,” Arum stated, referring to UFC fighters.

The concerns come against the backdrop of the UFC’s own legal history. In 2025, it agreed to a $375 million settlement in an antitrust class-action lawsuit brought by former defendants over alleged anticompetitive practices that they argued suppressed pay. The UFC reportedly denied wrongdoing.

Arum also questioned the long-term viability of Zuffa’s boxing venture without Saudi backing. “So they have some serious questions to consider: whether, after the Saudi involvement ends, there’s a future for them in boxing,” he said.

While Arum clarified that he had nothing negative to say about White, his comments reflect the pair’s long-strained relationship.

Both Arum and White have frequently traded criticism over their approaches to combat sports promotion. Neither established a major, ongoing business partnership with the other, and both rejected reports suggesting that Endeavor was preparing to acquire Top Rank back in 2023.

Tensions intensified following the March 2025 partnership involving Saudi interests, TKO Group, and White to establish Zuffa Boxing. Arum subsequently criticized White’s proposed approach, publicly describing him as harmful to the sport.

Arum has also opposed proposed changes to the Muhammad Ali Act backed by TKO, the parent company of the UFC and WWE, arguing that they would weaken boxers’ protections and negotiating leverage.

Arum’s relationship with Saudi-backed boxing has shifted as the sport’s financial landscape and promotional strategies have changed. In 2024, Top Rank secured a sponsorship agreement with Riyadh Season covering 12 Top Rank events across 2024 and 2025.

However, Arum later raised concerns about spending practices and the direction of the sport’s international expansion, while supporting efforts to stage more major fights in the United States.

Arum is not alone in questioning the long-term future of Saudi involvement in boxing.

Oscar De La Hoya has cautioned fighters against assuming that Saudi-backed funding will continue indefinitely, arguing that the sport should focus on building domestic audiences and reliable sources of revenue.

Eddie Hearn has similarly acknowledged that Saudi spending on boxing might have eased, suggesting that promoters may need to become more selective when planning expensive events.

Spencer Brown, Tyson Fury’s manager, expects Saudi involvement to continue but anticipates fewer blockbuster cards and lower fighter payouts than those seen during the recent spending boom.

Another indication came at the Fury-AJ kick-off press conference, when Turki Alalshikh reportedly suggested that health concerns could affect his future involvement in boxing.

Taken together, these examples point toward a potentially more restrained investment environment in boxing.