Dana White and the TKO Group took their biggest leap by completing two successful events under Zuffa Boxing’s banner. But is it actually that different from traditional boxing? Well, their UFC-like format does differ from the norm. However, professional boxer Ben Whittaker thinks they are moving even further away from traditional boxing, bringing more corporatism into the fights, which might just be a deal breaker for him.
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In both Zuffa Boxing events, the boxers appeared wearing mostly solid-colored shorts, mainly black and white. Now, for boxing viewers who are used to marquee fighters entering the ring in multi-colored designs, it might feel a little underwhelming. In an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports, the IBF lightweight champ and Olympian said he felt the shorts lacked personality and gave off more of a corporate office vibe than an actual boxing fight feel.
Ben Whittaker isn’t sold on Zuffa Boxing’s corporate, UFC-inspired setup
“Yeah, they have got that UFC feel. Like, I saw an interview. I think it might be… who’s the guy now? I don’t know, he’s a New Yorker who’s a world champion. He beat Manny Pacquiao, I think he did. He was talking about boxing as a sport where you need your own identity. It’s a thing where you want to see people’s ring walk. What will they come out to? What will their shorts be like? What’s their flavor going to be like? Where Zuffa Boxing is a bit more corporate. They’ve got to wear black, they’ve got to wear white,” the British boxer told Andrew Whitelaw in an EssentiallySports exclusive interview.
The fighter Whittaker couldn’t recall might be Juan Manuel Márquez, who knocked out Manny Pacquiao in 2012. After Zuffa came into prominence with its plan to transform boxing, the former Mexican boxer remained very critical of the process.
Ben Whittaker finds the idea not significant enough on its own. However, personally, Whittaker isn’t a big fan of the idea of not wearing customized shorts and having set entrance music, which are major parts of the boxing spectacle.
“But at the end of the day, it is giving fighters an opportunity. It’s giving fighters that might not get an opportunity an opportunity. At the end of the day, it’s giving them money they probably never get. So, for me, if they can help out their families and help out their lives, it’s good. But for me, I like to do my own thing,” Ben added in our exclusive interview.
Now, as the IBF lightweight champ doesn’t like the format, it would be interesting to see whether Zuffa ever tries to approach him. In the same interview, Whittaker also gave his thoughts on a very intriguing idea of a reality show featuring Dana White and Eddie Hearn that could actually break records.
Whittaker wants to see Dana White vs Eddie Hearn
In the Zuffa vs. boxing world story, Dana White and Eddie Hearn’s clash might be just as entertaining, if not more, than the fights themselves. Once upon a time, both head honchos shared a good relationship, back when the UFC CEO wasn’t in the boxing game. But now, the top bosses of combat sports are locked in a massive feud, taking every chance to throw verbal jabs at each other.
With that animosity intact, Andrew Whitelaw asked Ben Whittaker whether his manager, Eddie Hearn, and Dana White engaging in an ultimate fighting reality-type show would interest him. Without wasting much time, the IBF lightweight champion showed all green lights.
“Yeah… both can talk. Both know how to sell fights. And like I said, none of them wanna lose. So it’d be very something to see,” Ben Whittaker further added in the EssentiallySports interview.
Dana White has already hinted at bringing a Contender Series-type model to boxing, and it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that he’d like to bring a TUF-type format into Zuffa as well, especially to sculpt more stars for the promotion. So, a season against bitter rival Eddie Hearn would definitely bring in a lot of eyes, at that time when their feud just reached another level.
That said, with Zuffa Boxing starting to get mainstream attention, do you think it’s going to achieve more success with a UFC-like format? Let us know in the comments section below.