“The best will fight the best, undefeated guys will fight undefeated guys, and what you will do is you will care about the first fight of the night, not just the main event” – Dana White explained his vision to include the Contender Series model in boxing as he spoke to Vegas PBS ahead of Canelo vs. Crawford. Although the UFC boss often gets credit for turning the promotion into a global phenomenon from a failing business, many started doubting him after he promised to recreate the same success in boxing.

Part of the reason White has partnered with Turki Alalshikh is that he has identified some issues in boxing that he believes can be fixed. For starters, the sport has too many commissions and belts, which often confuse casual fans who don’t follow boxing regularly. So, the UFC CEO wants to bring order to boxing and give fans a seamless experience, just like he did with the MMA promotion. White has gained both support and backlash over the same. And to add more perspective, two of the sharpest minds in the industry, Demetrious Johnson and Luke Thomas, have weighed in on the issue.  

Demetrious Johnson’s nod to Dana White’s boxing vision  

On the Mighty Cast, former UFC flyweight champ kicked off the conversation saying, “If you’re in this pool at the UBO, you cannot fight anybody at this pool in the UBO. From my understanding. Now, I remember somebody on the call stating that, if you would’ve asked him 10 years ago, would HBO and Cinemax walk away from boxing? He would say you’re crazy.” Here, ‘Mighty’ actually wanted to highlight how boxing has shifted into a more online-centric business, where streaming platforms like DAZN and Netflix have picked it up and taken it to new heights.

While doing so, ‘DJ’ also compared it to how the UFC has successfully streamlined its athletes with a clear structure, which helped create superstars like Sean O’Malley, Merab Dvalishvili, and many others — ultimately leading to their massive $7.7 billion deal. He added, “UFC’s one that streamlined taking an athlete and made them a star. Look at Sean O’Malley, look at Merab, look at all these, and look at the deal they just signed for the 7.7 billion dollars.”

‘Mighty’ isn’t wrong here. The UFC’s structure is so clear that it makes it easy for fans to identify champions in each division. That’s the same model Dana White and TKO have been trying to build with their new boxing league, about which Johnson believes: “I think that’s gonna be good for boxing.”

However, the former ONE and UFC champion was also curious to hear how an industry expert like Luke Thomas, who has spent years in combat sports journalism, would view it. So, DJ asked, “If they did streamline boxing, do you think… the public know who is who in boxing?” And Thomas definitely had a very interesting and layered answer!  

Luke Thomas questions UFC CEO’s proposed boxing model   

“When you say that it’s gonna be good for boxing or any sport? My answer will be, well in sport it means many things, but the question will be, is this good for who?” From the get-go, Thomas answered the MMA legend’s question with an important question of his own. The veteran journalist wanted to imply whether the streamlined structure would actually benefit the athletes or the promotion.

To support what Thomas was trying to imply, he referred to a Tapology report showing how the UFC keeps getting bigger in America, while MMA in other countries continues to struggle. Well, his point was to highlight how pay disparity and market dominance could actually create serious discrepancies in the long run.

Luke added, “The point I’m trying to make is, I do think there are long-term consequences to underpaying athletes relative to market expectations. And frankly, an equitable split. And I think that has damaged. Again, I cannot prove this. But I believe that has damaged MMA’s standings,”. Moving forward, he stressed that bringing a structured system into boxing could also create similar problems for the sport in the future.

The veteran journalist pointed out how boxing has always run on fighters putting everything on the line in exchange for bigger paydays, which at the top level often surpass MMA’s biggest payouts. Thomas argued that while boxing might see some short-term gains from adopting a UFC-like system, it wouldn’t be able to adapt much once the model is set. If that happens, he believes the long-term effects could be damaging.

Thomas further added, “I could imagine a world where you could get some short and medium-term gains from having a simplified system. But that system is designed to control. And limit the amount of athlete compensation. That is not just a way that this system works. But long-term, if people don’t believe that they can get the financial returns from boxing that they once could, or if they think the brain damage isn’t worth it, what does that do long-term?”

So, it’s clear that Luke Thomas actually likes the traditional boxing approach. While Demetrious Johnson believes Dana White’s Zuffa model would actually bring some fresh change. That said, with advocates on both sides of this debate, which model do you think would be the best for boxing? Let us know in the comments section below.