When news first broke about Dana White’s new boxing league, plenty of skeptics thought it wouldn’t stand a chance. But as the saying goes, money talks. And with a multibillion-dollar joint venture involving TKO, UFC, WWE, and the backing of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, even WBC prez Mauricio Sulaiman had to tip his hat. “I truly believe that with the multibillion joint venture that is supposed to be TKO and UFC and WWE and what His Excellency has done in just under two years, it should be a great thing for the sport,” he said. But let’s be real—every coin has two sides. While some fans are hyped about the new idea, others fear that his cross-sport experiment might mess with boxing’s long-standing traditions.
That said, here’s the silver lining. Dana White isn’t here to buddy up with other boxing promoters. He promised to deliver blockbuster fights without the politics that often get in the way. Sounds great, right? But what really sets his league apart from the ones controlled by the four major sanctioning bodies? Well, one major change is his stance on weight classes and champions. Recently, White let the cat out of the bag on why he thinks having four different champions in a single weight division is nothing but a circus act. So what did he say?
Dana White goes back to basics
A few hours ago, veteran boxing journalist Dan Rafael sat down with UFC boss Dana White on the Fight Freaks Unite podcast. In his eyes, boxing is a mess, overflowing with divisions that make it impossible to tell who the real top dogs are. “I’m not working with them, okay? And doing less weight classes, you know, not three fu–ing weight classes in one weight class,” he said in frustration.
Think about it—boxing has 17 weight classes, which is then further divided into smaller divisions. That’s a headache waiting to happen. According to White, the UFC does it right with eight classes that are spread 10 to 15 pounds apart. However, in boxing, the weight classes change with every 5 to 7 pounds. But boxing’s old guards see it differently, believing even a 3-5 lbs difference can be game-changing in a fight. Dane White, though? He thinks it’s all just unnecessary clutter.
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So, what’s his plan? Simple—scrap the sanctioning bodies and their weight divisions. His new TKO Boxing league won’t be bowing to the likes of the WBC, WBA, IBF, or WBO. He’s cutting things down to just 8 divisions, and each division will have only one champion like that of UFC. No more multiple belts and no more confusion.
That said, White isn’t throwing tradition completely out the window. The historic weight limits—like 126 lbs for featherweight—will stay. Fight lengths? Still the same. And his main focus? Making sure that by the time a fighter hits the top five, there’s no doubt they belong there. “Like the featherweight divisions are one twenty-six pounds, right? Now, stay the same, ten rounds, twelve rounds, all that stuff, stay the same. I want the best guys that I have in the organization, fighting the best till they get up. When guys get up into the top five, there’s no question to the top five best guys are in the weight class,” he revealed.
But here’s the kicker—not everyone’s on board. In fact, one former UFC Flyweight champ just made it very clear that he’s not buying into Dana White’s new boxing rulebook.
Henry Cejudo backs multiple belts per division
A few days ago, Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry dropped another episode, and as always, Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo had plenty to say. While both agreed that His Excellency Turki Alalshikh is shaking up the boxing world in a big way, there was one thing that didn’t sit right with Cejudo.
Triple C made it clear that boxing has been around way longer than MMA, and because of that, it’s naturally more competitive. So, even if not all 4, but he would “like to see at least two belts.”
And if anyone can pull that off, Cejudo believes it’s HE Turki Alalshikh. Why? “I think it’s an easy sweep for Turki Alalshikh and TKO because that’s all Turki needs to do is, just buy the governing bodies out. You offer them all $100 million, they are all going to take it,” the Olympic gold medalist suggested. In his eyes, everyone has a price, and if HE Alalshikh puts his money in the right place, the belts could be consolidated in no time.
When the conversation turned to fighter pay, the 38-year-old didn’t hold back. He shut down the idea of boxing following the UFC’s payment model, calling boxing a far more dangerous sport. “Boxing is a lot more dangerous than what the sport of mixed martial arts is. Like dude, they’re taking blows to the head. These boxers, they train harder than anybody in probably in any sport. Just like wrestler dude,” he explained. In his book, boxers earn those massive paydays because of the sheer risk they take every time they step into the ring.
So, where do you stand? Do you back Dana White, believing that one belt per division is the way to go? Do you think boxing needs all four world titles to truly test a fighter’s mettle? Or are you siding with Henry Cejudo, saying two belts are enough to keep the competition fierce while cutting out the confusion? Let us know in the comments.
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