Ever since his entry into boxing at the beginning of this year with Zuffa Boxing, Dana White has drawn the ire of the boxing world. Though the new league, much in line with how the UFC functions, has already generated interest by signing fighters like Conor Benn and Jai Opetaia, one prominent boxing promoter is far from happy with the UFC CEO’s plans in boxing.

In a brutal rebuke, Bob Arum, the founder and CEO of Top Rank Boxing, criticized Dana White’s vision for the sport and predicted that the UFC boss’s model could eventually create the same fighter pay issues in boxing that have long plagued the UFC.

“Dana White really is a cancer for boxing because you come in and you want to get rid of all the sanctioning bodies, and we know where that’s going to lead,” Arum told Pro Boxing Fans. “We know what happened with Dana White and the UFC, and how they made a lot of money by underpaying the fighters.”

The 94-year-old veteran promoter isn’t wrong in assuming that Dana White wishes to get rid of the sanctioning bodies in boxing. The UFC CEO has said this himself. Last September, the UFC CEO made it clear that Zuffa Boxing would recognize only the Zuffa and Ring championships belts while refusing to recognize the authority and titles from the WBC, WBA, WBO, and IBF, the four sanctioning bodies currently overseeing boxing matches around the world. Still, White won’t be able to eliminate those organizations entirely. Instead, he has managed to circumvent their authority thanks to new legislation.

The Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act (H.R. 4624) is a proposed bipartisan federal legislation introduced to modernize boxing regulations. The bill amends the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 and proposes several industry shifts to create a “unified” league-style system, much like the UFC. While it was passed by the US House of Representatives in March 2026, it is currently awaiting further consideration in the US Senate before it is sent to the President, who will sign it into law.

If and when it passes and becomes a law, White would no longer need to seek the sanctioning from the four organizations to authorize boxing matches, the way they do now. And thus, Zuffa Boxing will be allowed to function much like the UFC. This is the point of contention for Bob Arum. According to the promoter who has promoted the fights of Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, this would invite the same problem to boxing that forced the UFC to payout $375 million in a class action lawsuit settlement.

“I mean, they just lost a lawsuit with $350 million,” Arum added. “They’re about to lose another lawsuit for $400 million. Why? Because they pay their fighters peanuts, and they make all the money themselves, and they talk about building the sport and so forth. So if they got a foothold in boxing, in my opinion, it would be the same thing as far as the boxers were concerned. Initially, they’d make money, but ultimately, they’d be like paupers.”

The $375 million that Arum is referring to here is the settlement of Le v. Zuffa antitrust lawsuit, which the UFC settled last year with UFC fighters who competed in the promotion between December 16, 2010, and June 30, 2017. The lawsuit alleged that the UFC utilized exclusive contracts, restrictive clauses, and the acquisition of rival promotions to suppress fighter wages and maintain an illegal monopoly. However, that isn’t the only lawsuit that UFC fought or is currently fighting, as Arum pointed out.

A second antitrust lawsuit, Johnson v. Zuffa, remains active in court, which was filed in 2021. The Johnson lawsuit focuses on fighters from July 1, 2017, to the present and is actively seeking both financial damages and systemic changes to UFC contracts and business practices.

At this point, it is not confirmed if the UFC will have to pay $400 million or any specific amount in the Johnson case. However, if the promotion is found liable, the financial impact could be much greater than the lawsuit before. As per the antitrust lawsuit, filed under the Sherman Act, if found liable, the plaintiffs can recover almost triple the amount in damages. On top of that, there are two more lawsuits, more recently filed against the MMA promotion.

So while Dana White’s foray into boxing is interesting, their history of fighter pay issues and lawsuit settlements does paint a concerning picture.

Now, it’s not only Bob Arum who has gone after Dana White. A former boxing champion has also blasted the UFC CEO over his plans to reshape the sport.   

Tony Bellew criticizes Dana White over the Muhammad Ali Boxing Revival Act

After a 30-4 approval vote in January, the Muhammad Ali Revival Act went through a significant development in March 2026. The House of Representatives passed the bill by voice vote. Though the act hasn’t become law yet, it marks a major victory for Zuffa’s vision of bringing a sanctioned UFC-style structure to boxing.

According to former WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew, that’s the absolute worst possible scenario for boxing, and he didn’t mince his words while calling out Dana White.

“If the Ali Act gets turned over, it’s the worst thing ever, and it can’t be,” Bellew said on the Fight Your Corner podcast alongside Tom Aspinall. “It will be the most frightening thing that would happen to boxing ever because it would just ruin the whole bit. It’s not even about the business model and the money.

“You’re allowing one man to control the whole narrative and he is controlling everything that involves the fighter. And understand this, he ain’t even f—–g fighting.”

While Dana White continues to face criticism over his plans for boxing, it doesn’t appear that the UFC CEO cares much about the noise outside it and is expected to keep pushing toward his goal. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see whether his vision eventually leads to fighter pay-related issues in Zuffa Boxing as well or whether he continues paying boxers lucrative purses like Conor Benn’s reported $15 million one-fight deal.