The back-and-forth shows no signs of slowing down. Zuffa Boxing 3 wrapped up Sunday night at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, and UFC CEO Dana White—tapped by TKO Holdings to lead the new boxing venture—is firing back at rivals Oscar De La Hoya and Eddie Hearn after their pointed criticism of the fledgling league.

“There hasn’t been any pushback. This is like beating up babies,” Dana White told a sea of reporters during the Zuffa Boxing 3 post-fight press conference. “I expected some pushback. I expected… them to be more game. They’re all way out of their league. Like. Absolutely, positively out of their league.

White has been in a constant war with the likes of Golden Boy Promotions head Oscar De La Hoya and Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn. Even WBC President Mauricio Suleman hasn’t been kind to the UFC boss. Oscar, in particular, has slammed White for being “scumbags” for trying to amend the Ali Act and accused him of exploiting boxers. 

He was critical of Zuffa Boxing’s debut in January, branding it underwhelming. Meanwhile, Suleman has accused White of bullying and mistreatment during the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight.  He dismissed Zuffa’s business model, which doesn’t include any sanctioning fees, suggesting that’s because the promotion keeps all the money. 

“I haven’t said anything about Eddie Hearn. [De La Hoya and I] are what we are. The WBC, I haven’t said anything about… And all the s—t that De La Hoya talks. We all know he’s f—king mentally ill,” White reflected on all his rivals. “The guy’s talking all this s—t. His place is in foreclosure. He’s suing his fighters to try to stay with him.

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According to reports, Oscar De La Hoya’s promotion defaulted on a $27 million commercial real estate loan connected to the promotion’s headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. Oscar, reportedly, is yet to pay $23 million, and is hoping for a modification to the loan repayment schedule to avoid losing the property altogether.

Furthermore, De La Hoya has sued his star fighter, Vergil Ortiz Jr., for negotiating a fight deal with Jaron Ennis without him. Their promotional agreement stipulated that if Golden Boy doesn’t have a broadcast partner, Ortiz Jr. will be free to leave the promotion. DAZN and Golden Boy’s agreement ran out in December last year. 

However, Golden Boy argues that they are in conversation with DAZN to extend their broadcast deal to 2027, so Ortiz Jr. can’t leave the promotion. 

“There’s no doubt about it,” White added during the presser, suggesting that pushback from the likes of Oscar, Hearn, and WBC shows the impact they have had on boxing. “I mean, we’re in our third event here, and we’re already in 18 territories across the world… and the list gets bigger every week. 

“I mean, it’s 18 right now,” White added during the presser. “I think it was 16 [during] Zuffa Boxing 2. It’s just going to keep getting bigger.” 

Zuffa Boxing signed a broadcast deal with Paramount+, alongside its sister company, UFC, to air its events on the platform. Regardless, White’s mocking wasn’t just focused on De La Hoya. 

Dana White calls ‘career politician’ Eddie Hearn daddy’s pet

A handful of days ago, Eddie Hearn told IFL TV that Zuffa Boxing’s belts are the “cringiest s—t I’ve ever seen.” He shouldn’t have done that, as Dana White has now fired back. White branded the Matchroom chief a “career politician” and dismissed him as daddy’s pet. 

“I don’t think anybody looks at Eddie Hearn and says, ‘Oh, this guy’s a visionary.’” He added, “This guy’s been in boxing forever… You’ve done nothing in the sport except stay in the lane and play by all the rules and ride right along with what’s happening.

“Eddie Hearn works for his dad. You know what I mean? He works for dad,” White added. “… We do [have vision]. We’re gonna change the entire sport.”

White claimed that people in boxing who are protesting Zuffa’s involvement are simply uncomfortable with the disruption they have caused in the sport. 

Safe to say, there’s no love lost between Dana White and his rivals. With statements such as these, the feud doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon. But do you agree with White?