“There’s no way I would get into something that I couldn’t run and control.” Ever since Dana White announced his return to boxing, there has been intrigue. The return of UFC’s prodigal son alongside GEA Chairman Turki Alalshikh and TKO Group to relaunch his boxing league – Zuffa Boxing marks a seismic shift for the sport.

And while White will resume his boxing journey with a blockbuster Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford clash, the future seems bleak afterwards. As it turns out, the UFC head honcho wants to apply the same model to the squared circle. And as expected, it has created friction amongst enthusiasts, with Eddie Hearn revealing one fatal flaw in Dana White and TKO’s vision.

Dana White can’t control boxing

Recently, Matchroom promoter Hearn appeared on Ring Champs with Ak & Barak alongside Akin Reyes. In an hour-long conversation, the duo discussed the future of boxing, and expectedly, Zuffa boxing came up. Reyes wanted to know whether Dana White and His Excellency can find a way to satisfy everyone. Unsurprisingly, Hearn believes it isn’t possible. Why? Because “Boxing is never going to be a sport that you can control because it’s out of control in an old and good way,” he said.

The promoter acknowledged the Saudi Royal’s role in reigniting boxing’s popularity. However, his partnership with TKO Group holdings won’t work because, unlike MMA, boxing is a lot more volatile and expensive. “Dana’s a very smart guy. Nick Khan, you know, all these people, very smart people. They are used to running a business where there is a lot of control over talent. Okay, boxing is really not like that, right? And in my opinion, the only way that you can control the elite talent like that, like you need to in that environment, is to pay them obscene amounts of money,” he explained.

However, as seen from White and TKO’s business model, they like to control the talent without overpaying them. Indeed, if we look at both WWE and UFC, TKO holds the creative as well as contractual control. But in boxing, with so many promotions, they will lose that completely. “I mean, one of the problems in boxing is when you go to sleep at night, when you wake up in the morning, nothing is ever the same, right? These guys are used to running a business where they control everything. You go to sleep at night, everything’s the same,” the British promoter added.

Furthermore, according to a recent report by Boxing Scene, unranked fighters will earn $20,000, while those ranked between No. 5 and No. 10 will receive $50,000. Fighters ranked No. 3 or No. 4 are expected to make $125,000. Title challengers will earn $375,000, and defending champions could take home up to $750,000 in Zuffa boxing. Eddie Hearn accepted that young fighters will be keen on joining Dana White’s league because of decent pay and reach. However, when it comes to top fighters, they won’t agree to such a massive pay cut.

Well, Shakur Stevenson instantly proved the Matchroom head honcho right when he shared his thoughts on Zuffa boxing. And he is not that keen on the idea.

Worrying signs for Zuffa Boxing

Ahead of his WBC lightweight title defense against William Zepeda, Stevenson appeared on the Ariel Helwani Show. During the interview, the 28-year-old shared his views on Dana White’s involvement in boxing. “I like Dana. Dana is a great guy,” he said. However, when it comes to the payout, he is not on board with the reported model. “Only thing that I say, just pay me. I’m not trying to get a pay cut. I know these guys are trying to bring the pay back down. I’m not with that,” he added. Dana White has often faced criticism for his low pay model in the UFC, with the likes of Jake Paul calling him out constantly.

In boxing, where top fighters make tens and hundreds of millions, joining a league for peanuts compared to that makes no sense. “You can’t bring somebody… give somebody a certain amount of money, and bring them back down. I disagree with that,” Stevenson concluded. Interestingly, Zuffa Boxing has not even kicked off yet, and they have already lost a few top boxers.

Only time will tell how Zuffa Boxing will fare. However, unless Dana White and His Excellency make some necessary changes to their model, the plan doesn’t seem feasible. What do you think?