Dana White: Oscar De La Hoya vs Manny Pacquiao 'a bad day for boxing'

No its was $54.95, a $1.50 automated service fee, then you got taxes! HD would have been $64.95!!!

Heard the undercard was the worst thing ever. Dana is right too. I knew Oscar would get outclassed with quick jabs and body shots but this was embarrassing especially when they zoomed in on his wife(*shakes head).

Damn bro! Next time use channelsurfing.net

UFC 95 (London): Anderson Silva vs. Banha Cane

also Stevenson and Huerta will probably fight at this event…Maybe against each other.

Dennis “THe matt Huges slayer” Hallman might return to the UFC.

Cane FTW!!!

Anderson/Cane!!! DAM I HOPE THATS TRUE!!!!!! I want to see Anderson just stay at LHW already!

Hallman? WTF, do you think he still has it in him john?

I dont know what to think about Dennis Hallman making a return to the UFC. He was offered the Jon Fitch fight. it was between Hallman and Gono, but in the end the UFC decided to match Gono up against Fitch.

AS for Banha Cane….. He is one of the most under rated fighters in the game, and 2009 will be a breakout year for him. After he fights Silva that is. I actually like this match up. Cane is a very tough and Nasty striker. Cane is a much tougher opponent than Cote is so I have no problem with this fight being booked!

Man, i thought those two were friends. Anderson was hyping him up before his debut against Irvin. Iwanna see banha vs T Silva. Heard there is bad blood between them from back in brazil.

WOW, Anderson vs. my boy Banha Cane? This is a very tough fight for both of them..I really hope that Andy fights someone else.

john, you know i am a huge Banha fan, and have been talking him up since before his UFC debut, but this fight has me worried for Cane..

This fight is still VERY intriguing, but I dont want to see either lose..We all know Anderson is one bad mutha, but I also think Banha has what it takes to hand Andy a lose..While im almost certain Anderson would walk away victorious, I really dont want to see him lose..I want him to go out a legend..And I want Cane to stay undefeated…

oh well’ fuck it, this would be an epic fight, and im already getting pumped, just thinking about it..

But do you think the UFC will want to market Andersons 5th last fight against a practical ‘no name’ in Banha Cane??

if there is bad blood between Banha and Tiago, I owuld love to see them go at it.

If Anderson vs. Banha is true and not just a rumor, I wont complain because we will see some great striking exchanges if those two are paired up!

cane isn’t even a top 10 fighter. why would the ufc waste one of silva’s last 5 fights on an unranked opponent. anderson silva has nothing to gain by beating cane, just like he gained nothing by beating james irvin and patrick cote. wanna talk about somebody goin a few years with out fighting anyone of any caliber, don’t mention fedor as being that person anymore, it’s anderson silva. he hasn’t fought anyone in the ufc worth a shit other than hendo. franklin was given an inflated record by being fed cans so he doesn’t count. there were a half dozen MW’s in pride that would’ve destroyed “ace”. leben is a gatekeeper at best. lutter is a joke unless it’s a BJJ tourny and Marquardt has gotten beat the only times he’s ever faced good competition

Fuck yeah. At the rate per minute he’s making, why not? It’s not like he hasn’t payed his dues to the sport.

I ment to reply to your reply above. My bad.

Cool!

Arum is a schmuck, but keepin’ the sport alive nonetheless…

tell it as it is tyler!

Dana is right though. That event sucked. When there was fighting it was okay, but there wasn’t much fighting.

yea you guys are right…Dana should be talking up his competition making them sound good because that is what a good business man does right? Help out the competition right?

But any way the ufc is thriving on its own and doesnt really need any help, Do you guys know how many buys the jones jr. calzeghe fight did? a mere 200,000, oscar delahoya is the only draw in boxing and he is going to retire boxing is a dead sport and dana and the rest of the world know it.

There is a difference between talking up your competition and making bitter statements about companies that you have nothing but praise for when you are bout to sign a business deal with them. Credibillity counts for something, when everything you say is predictable who is going to give a shit about what you are saying besides die hard UFC fans.
Everybody realized how much of a one sided fight RJJ/Calzaghe was.

Also, you’re talking like there havent been successfull PPV draws in boxing this year. Look at Cotto/Margarito for example.
Look at how much revenue is still generated by Mexican fight fans, who are not leaving boxing anytime soon (if ever). Dana hasnt been shy about his frustration in not being able to establish MMA in Mexico and among Mexican Americans.
The “boxing is dead” argument is dumb and is constantly repeated everytime boxing goes through a peak and a valley… It sure gets old…

Hey UFC haters,
How about you tell us wether you agree with his [Dana] comments or not. Not why you think he said them.
Did you love the quality of the event? Did you love the production of the show? Do you agree that it is a blow to boxing if DeLeHoya retires?
All valid comments or questions IMO, but you would rather talk about the drama of why he did or did not say this or that. Maybe you should stop watching sports all together and just stick to reality TV…and for the love of pete, take down that Mike Tyson poster over you bed already.

actually the ufc didnt sign the deal with hbo because of the production, they wanted control of the production and i dont blame then for not signing the deal. The ufc’s ppv are the best out their.

Yet Dana admits he pulled the plug at the last minute, and that he was extremely close to handing it over.

Considering they have had the same problem with every network….

I do agree that for the moment they dont need network partners, atleast not until they establish MMA as mainstream and universally appreciated as a sport.

Jrandolph, people who are critical of a promoters actions arent “UFC haters” who have “Mike Tyson posters over their walls”… Its a cute way to try and dismiss critical opinions though.

The problem is that we get the same criticisms of every major competing event exactly a day after it happened from Dana. It would be like a competitor of the UFC pointing out after a UFC event that every show is filled with constant boos and that several cities show a lack of enthusiam for UFC events the second time around . Or that in order to create a big time fight the UFC gave a title shot to a 2-1 fighter with no big wins to his name.

If you want to find a fault in something that you want to hate its not that hard. Its too bad that Dana is constantly a one trick pony centered on same SpikeTV-esque tough guy negativity.
Its possible to love the UFC and be absolutely baffled at some of the things that go on with it.

Great. Now will you or anyone one of you please agree or disagree with what Dana actually said.
Crticise Dana all you want. I have no problem with it, but if he makes a statement on any given subject (Remember, we are talking about the qualiy of the HBO event here) Then adress the ACTUAL comment, then proceed with the bashing.

Well, should be obvious, but I’ll go ahead and disagree.

The crowd was certainly not dead (considering how bad some UFC crowds have been?), the UFC has had to loop music before (Song 2 anyone? which is a total nitpick criticism to begin with… unlike the UFC, Manny had the option of coming out to whatever music he wanted), and HBO has proven time and time again that they understand production. Its the reason why Dana was a signature away from having them involved with his product and why he tries to model his countdown shows in the style of 24/7.
If anything Dana’s issues are with Golden Boy, who is known to stuff Oscars fights with filler, but HBO is a more visible target and is a convenient backdrop for his emmy joke.

The point is that it’s the same “find anything negative and voice it to the press the day after the event” criticisms that Dana does the day after every “competitors” spotlight event.

Fair points. My point is similar in that every time Dana makes a comment, anyone that hates the UFC will start blasting Dana or the UFC and almost never adress the substance of the comments. I did not se the HBO fight, so I can’t speak to it. However, I would guess there are many posts roasting Dana from other people that also did not see the fight. So while it may seem obvious to you, scroll down the posts and you will find that you are one of a few that have now addressed Dana’s opinions about the HBO event, rather than the usual “Dana’s an idiot” comment.

I dont understand what all these Networks want to do with the UFC? Why do they want control over production? what the hell is wrong with UFC production of events, that needs Tweaking? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! If a network wants to pick up the UFC, then I will be happy, but Only if Dana keeps control over the event production. The only say that HBO should have over a UFC card, is whi9ch HBO they will air it on!

Props to Dana for holding out and not giving up control!

you dont get brendan what he means though
he was trying to say ufc 91 was all about lesnar and couture
mostly all events have the 2 fights promoted main event and co main event
like ufc 92 is about griffin evans but then they have and promote nog/mir and wanderei/ampage
but ufc 91 was all about lesnar and couture a good proof was the ufc 91 website
there wasnt anything about florian and stevenson cept when u clicked the fight card link lol

the florian and stevenson fight wasnt promoted as well as other co main events in the past before 91

what brendan means*

Introvert, do you not get tired of spewing nothing but hate? Get laid, drink some beers, do something to bring some happiness into your hate filled life!!!

LOL at comparing an underpromoted WEC card on cable TV to the “biggest boxing event of the year” on PPV for $60.

Seriously, that’s hilarious…

Gotta agree with you JV. Introvert needs to get laid or something. He seems to be the biggest source of sarcasm and anger on this site.

My point was that BOTH shows sucked, and Dana should not be running his big mouth about boxing. He does not need to look like more of a pompus ass for bad mouthing boxing. Every-one knows boxing is falling apart.

Boxing isn’t dead it’s just on a slow decline and has been for a long time. I don’t think boxing is dead or will die, but it is definatley on the decline. There’s no denying it. Big boxing fights are once in a blue moon and for the most part boxing has become irrelevent in the sports world.

Are you suggesting that this hasn’t happened before? Boxing is full of constant peaks and valleys in its history.

Also depends where you are in the world, boxing is enjoying great success overseas and Germany specifically.

For the record I agree with you 100% about the decline but i’ve gone through so many “declines” and “boxing is dead” periods that you just start to roll your eyes everytime people swear that this is the time.
Its always going to be dependant on starpower at the time, and more specifically starpower for Mexican/Mexican American fight fans. Margarito was a good draw earlier this year and is establishing himself, we will have to see who else starts to get a fanbase.

I CLAUDIUS. your right about boxing going through peaks and valleys in it’s history. i know this from being a boxing fan since the early 80s(80s was a golden era, a peak if you will) and being a bit of a boxing aficionado myself. the one thing you left out was up until about 5-6 years ago, boxing never had much competition for it’s general audience as a combat sport. now in one of it’s lowest valleys, it has stiff competition from mma, the ufc especially. boxing wont ever die b/c like you said it is still huge overseas, but mma is burying it here in the states. i dont ever see boxing becoming as big as it was in the 80s again and delahoya retiring will hurt the sport badly.

Great post b.w. I agree completely about boxing not dying completely or regaining the popularity it had in the ’80’s. I think that while it is clearly far from dead, it has lost a lot of the luster that allowed it to gain the status it had. I think mma is steadily winning over fans and eventually will be the biggest combat sport worldwide.

I agree with you B.W., and time will tell if it becomes a more of a niche sport.

Like I said though it all depends on what kind of stars emerge to generate interest. Boxings biggest problem (and something I think is reflected in the growing prominence of international fighters) is that there are less athletes who turn to boxing in the U.S. then before, and thus those U.S. stars emerge at a slower rate.
Boxing is so built into Mexican culture and those fans account for so much of boxings revenue that I find it hard to believe that PPV revenue is going to all of a sudden dry up, especially considering the rate in which fighters emerge from that culture.

One thing people never mention is the possibillity of MMA’s popularity leveling off. I sure as hell hope it continues to grow like it has but its really impossible to predict if something is going to last in popularity for the foreseeable future, I think thats a big motivator behind the UFCs international expansion.

well said.

Who said it was OK? Its what promoters have been doing, and will continue to do.

And yeah, thats kind of the point. He lies, everybody knows he has an agenda. The only people who get caught up in what he is saying are all the tools on the internet who feel its their duty for some reason to bash other sports to make the UFC look good (when it has the opposite effect).

This has been going on for years and years and its an “outrage” everytime it happens. Listening to most promoters is a complete waste of time, its not like Dana White is an orginal.

Thank you!

You’re totally right Claudius.

yes he is, but so is tyler.. the more media exposure the UFC gets the more he needs to stop dropping f-bombs and calling ppl moron’s left and right cause he will be thrashed in media and exposed as the wannabe-gangsta he really is.. and the way they pay their fighters will also be seen as a joke compared to other sports

Hoping that Lorenzo Ferttita starts to handle some of the press (which he probably wont).
Has their ever been a prominent fight promoter that wasnt a scumbag, either through actions or words?
Being nice and polite doesnt exactly fly in the promoter game… As bad as Dana is he is no Gary Shaw or Frank Warren.

if what dana does is so bad and hurting the sport, then why is mma on a huge and growing upswing. personally i think he must be doing something right.

Well, we’ve already seen Ferttita step in to handle negotiations with corporate sponsers and international expansion (after the initial problems in England)…. Now we see the next Ultimate Fighter is being staged in a way that Dana is opposed to. Pretty apparent that Zuffa has taken steps to get Dana help and is making decisions that are against what he wants.

Agreed that Dana has done a lot more good for MMA then he gets credit for, but the opinion that the UFC should be more popular then it is at the moment considering the steps it has been taking over the years is a valid one IMO.

Would think the success of UFC 66 might have been able to be replicated in the 25 events since. Had to give Lesnar a title shot after a 2 win career to generate a big buzz fight. Even then, the interest in the fight underperformed the numbers Dana boasted it would.

Point taken.

I think Tyson’s saying that Dana is a McMahon wannabe…

Whoops, I meant Manny Vs. JMM 2…

Actually, Jones/Calzaghe did 225,000 buys which was 50% less than the 500,000 they were hoping for. Hopkins/Pavlik (two top 10 p4p boxers going at it – one undefeated) only brought in 190,000 buys!! They were only expecting 300,000 and didn’t even come close!

Again, I’m expecting the typical response from introvert. You know, the response where he ignores all of the FACTS you present, and continues to spew the same 3rd grade responses. Leave Dana White out of it now, bottom line, boxing has no draws. Oscar was the last big draw, and he’s done. Manny/Mayweather or MAYBE Manny/Hatton would be the only fights that could draw. Other than that, what is there?? Boxing is banking on two possible fights!! One with a guy who’s retired!!!

I’m dying to hear introvert’s response, and please bring a logical argument. PLEASE.

My response is…

Boxing is alive and well, and the numbers on Saturday proved it. Every single time there is a big boxing match, you all line up behind your hero and say “boxing is dead…we own boxing, blah, blah, blah”…then boxing has another big fight and tools the UFC, and you all line up behind your hero again “boxing sucks, etc…”.

Aren’t you guys ever going to question the fact that you keep echoing what your fearless leader says? How many big boxing matches are you going to ignore? How long you going to keep saying the same shit over and over? 1 more year…6 more years…100 more years?

Keep following the leader boys.

Boxing has draws…always had draws and always will have draws…it’s a fact and the truth. Anyone, including Dana, saying anything else is nothing but speculation…nothing.

“Rather than love, or money, or fame….give me truth”…and the truth is boxing is fine…Manny and Oscar’s payday proves that.

…why do you guys follow Dana like he’s the “be all, end all” of everything sports related, anyway?

It’s like the guy is some sort of mesiah to you guys, because he is the head of a company that you enjoy watching.

No, not everytime there’s a big boxing match. Pavlik vs. Hopkins was a big boxing match and it did 190,000 buys. Again, unless Oscar or Mayweather are involved the fight doesn’t draw well. That’s my point.

I’m still waiting for these other boxing matches you’re speaking of. Margarito/Moseley is the next big boxing match on PPV, and I guarantee you it doesn’t even do 200,000 buys.

And I don’t follow everything Dana says. I, like many people, had this same opinion before Dana said anything. Boxing will always be around, but it’s not even close to what it once was. And the future isn’t looking bright. The fighters may be there, but the public’s interest isn’t. Unless it’s a Mayweather (retired) or De La Hoya (soon to be retired) fight.

You have anything other than speculation? Because my argument that boxing is alive and well is based solely on “facts”…(i.e. $$$$$$$$)