Dana White Calls De La Hoya-Pacquiao “A Bad Day For Boxing”
Posted by Kris Karkoski on Dec 8, 2008 at 8:37 am ET43 Comments
UFC President Dana White
UFC President Dana White attended Saturday’s lopsided victory by Manny Pacquiao over a clearly-outmatched Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vegas, then discussed the event with Yahoo! Sports:
“Did you see the production? And that was HBO. Maybe they should give us some of their Emmys. The pacing was awful. There was no energy in the crowd. They had to loop Pacquiao’s music when he came out because he had to walk so far.
“I love boxing as a sport and I came from boxing, but this was a bad day for boxing. [Floyd] Mayweather’s probably running out of money and will probably return to face Pacquiao, and I’d pick Mayweather in that one, but nobody is going to draw like De La Hoya does.”
Tags: Dana White
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Can not argue with that and the reason for no atmosphere is down to the faceless celebs & friends taking the seats away from real fans.
haha “Mayweather’s probably running out of money…”
I agree Us and Chuck. Too many celebs trying to keep their face in the spotlight at these Boxing events.
Go to a Calzaghe or Hatton fight and the Atmosphere is electric. I think thats just down to the fact that all of Britian travels with our Boxers and the other fact that no one in the rest of the world likes the British! lol, kiddin on the last bit.
God knows where Dana got the Mayweather bit from. Its a 90% chance that its going to be Hatton vs Pacquiao.
You cant beat a UFC crowd.
I have to agree with Dana. Anyone who actually bought that card has told me how dumb they feel for buying it. I watched it online but Oscar just looked like a shell of the fighter he was in the past. I used to love boxing but now I just cannot get into it anymore. Oh well hopefully the MMA world will still keep producing good combat martial arts.
I was able to watch the fight and i was disgusted over what i saw. Cmon u guys if you are gonna script the whole thing dont make it too obvious. Pacquiao has the money to buy over the hill fighters and other mexicans who want to make a quick buck. Its just painful to watch him fool Filipinos into thinking he’s that good. They love him too much over here its silly. He even tried to run for congressman! good thing he lost, he chickened out of the debate because of a family emergency. You can fool everyone even yourself just keep me out of it!
Yeah I watched this PPV and was scratching my head the whole time.
The production was awful, lots of dead air and time wasted on really boring prep like refs reading rules to Manny while he gets his hands taped,, and talking about fist dimensions. It was choppy and totaly a downer for the excitement of the actual fight. I did enjoy watching a boxing match that ended short of 12 rounds, but I couldnt belive how Oscar just quit in there.
Even the snoozer UFC cards are 100% more exciting than that production was.
I disagree, how could it be bad for boxing when they are able to pay the two fighters $11 million and $20 million? The crowd enegy seemed pretty good to me, lots of support for both guys, a lot of buzz and noise when pac-man really turned it on. Also, it sets up Hatton vs. Pacquiao which will also sell well. I don’t think any production problems were enough to ruin the fight for anyone nor turn a boxing fan into an mma fan. It’s just Dana being Dana and never admitting anything else is good besides the UFC.
im all for a bit of boxing bashing but the ufc does milk the celeb side to it as well as boxing not that i dont like that just pointing it out to ryanmoney.
i hope they do hatton vs pac man at wembley will be a quality fight plus we wont have to wait up until half 4 to watch the fuking thing, people bash boxing altot but i dont think a ufc event would fill wembley weres as a hatton pac man fight will. also like to note im a bigger ufc/mma fan then iam boxing,
re: “It’s just Dana being Dana and never admitting anything else is good besides the UFC.”
You’re wrong about that, Dana has spoken highly of StrikeForce and MFC to just name two things other than the UFC that Dana admits is good.
are*
The production was terrible because they wasted almost an hour of air time waiting for 11 to get there so they could show the fight. Why were there no undercard fights to show? Why did we have to listen to the announcers and various commentators show they know absolutely nothing by predicting that the bigger De La Hoya would be able to dominate?
It was horrible. Had I spent any money on it I would have been livid. Not because of the fight but because of almost an hour of dead time. How much did they charge for that? Because I guarantee it wasn’t worth it
Just had to try it!!
Yea, I admit that the UFC has Celebs too, Johnboy.
When you look at the UFC and a top tier Boxing bout, Boxing dominates with its Celeb numbers.
Yea you are right about UFC not being able to fill Wembley either where as Hatton will sell it out. MMA isnt well known in England yet, despite what Dana and the media say. What does Wembley hold, 90,000? Even Ricky Hatton wont sell that out. You will get a good part of the top section that will be blocked off. Hatton will need an opponent as popular as himself to be able to draw that many people and Manny P isn’t a house hold name over here. As good as he is, he isn’t a big enough personality. Mayweather however if given a fight against Ricky would sell Wembley out twice over. IMO. I saw Hatton vs Lazcano in Manchester and I couldn’t believe how the media was saying about it being a sell out, there were at least 1,500 seats that were empty.
I’m surprised that the UFC even manages to sell out the O2 in London seeing as how poor the coverage of MMA/UFC is over here. Not one news channel or programme will mention MMA/UFC unless it is to call it “human cock fighting” or to say that a politician wants it banned!
Justin, ok maybe he does say good things about them, but I don’t know about where you live but in the Philadelphia area I believe when Strikeforce is actually on TV its on at 3am on Saturday nights. So maybe I should have said he does not give credit to anything that could be considered direct competition for the UFC.
Darksner, StrikeForce is in direct competition with the UFC more so than Affliction is imo…. Now the Pac v DHL fight is the once maybe twice a year “big” boxing event, is that really comp against the UFC? now i personally didnt watch the fight yet if they wasted the fans $ (ppv) and their production was second rate, then what is wrong with Dana calling them out on it?
Pac v DHL? When did he fight a shipping company? j/k…
I think Dana will recognize well-done events whether they are directly competing or not. I don’t think he has a problem complimenting Strikeforce because while they are “directly competing”, both groups know that if a Strikeforce event goes directly against a UFC ppv, the UFC will win every time.
Don’t care for boxing so i have no comment…
DLH, damnit nice catch bsBiz
StrikeForce v UFC ppv ya noway that StrikeForce wins that battle…
Dana was saying it was bad for boxing because De La Hoya is a tremendous draw and to see him look so terrible really does do some damage.The fact that one of the biggest draws to boxing looked so terrible on a big stage like that does hurt boxing as a whole. When De La Hoya told Roach he was right that said it all to me…Boxing still has some great boxers but how many truly great ppv cards have you really seen from boxing in the last few years? Most of the fights of the year have really only been on espn or some other channel. When a superstar TRULY does not have it anymore it sad to watch when they actually fight a good opponent. To be honest I thought De La Hoya would be able to win this fight but he looked sluggish and never really let it fly. For a fighter who fought at more than 20lbs his normal fighting weight to dominate a much larger guy(in reach, weight, and height) with more than just speed is just sad.
Dana should keep his mouth shut once in a while, it would be good for him. I thought the fight was great. It was awesome seeing a smaller fighter who was the underdog come out with a whole country behind him fight like he was posessed, and kick ass. And as far as it being bad for the sport because a huge draw performed like crap. Like thats never happened in the UFC? In general I cant get enough UFC but Dana comes off like a real dick when he says **** like that.
De La Hoya gave the fight away from the beginning. Didnt you see it? its just bad to see him go like that.
He was waiting for the sign to fall, guess he needed the money pretty bad eh?
Score one for another pacquiao circus show.
Chris L.,
I think Dana was commenting as much or more on the production as he was the fight, based on the excerpts I read from what he had to say.
Buddy,
I didn’t see the fight but from what I’ve read about about it here I didn’t miss much. Also a redeeming factor if a big name fighter under performs at a UFC event there are other fights and fighters on the card so that it’s not a waste of money for the people there and watching at home.
manny p is the best boxer in the world and i belive that hes way better at his sport by 10x what aderson silva is to mma. dont get me wrong i love mma and hate boxing but i paid and watched that fight and he did to hoya what floyd only wished he could.
What was the event, something like 6 hours long, maybe too much filler and not enough action, also alot of money to put out for one night of fights. It was over 60 bucks i think, i cant afford that and my beloved UFC.
As having witnessed Ali – frazier 2 and 3 and the over played Rumble in the jungle I will have to say that boxing has faded considerably overthe last 15 years . There are simply too few talents out there to make me interested in it . in the early years until the late 80’s weekend boxing was on religiously .Your copy of TV GUIDE had a column just for the weekly matches and it usually had 5 . And these wernt the sh1tty espn bouts we now watch …. we are talking haugen vs pazienza 3 times . sugar ray vs hearns , marvin hagler vs Roberto duran , simon brown vs marlon starling , larry holmes vs Cooney which was a brutal fight if you have never seen it . Classic battles for free …. now all you get is rerun crap of meaningless fights . You see one or two guys they push hard and the rest are one hit wonders . Thats why MMA is doing so well , its on all the time regardless and the fights are exciting . Which means more tough guys are gravitating to it leaving the ‘b’ class for boxing .
Chris L.,
Yeah, I definitely acknowledge that Dana grew up a big boxing fan, and is still a boxing fan, at least for the sport of boxing, not so much the current business of boxing. As I stated I didn’t see the fight, and if it was as p!ss poor a performance as you are suggesting, and I were a long time boxing fan, I’d call it a bad day for boxing as well.
De La Hoya lost every round and his corner called it after the 8th. I think the 7th was easily a 10-8 and there wasn’t a knockdown. The only round he “could” have won was the first but after that it was truly sad. In the 7th I believe Pacquiao landed 45 power shots, according to the comp. De La Hoya didn’t even look in the fight after the 4th. His eyes were already just staring off.
Its a real shame to see someone like Oscar go out like that. He has been to the well too many times now and its empty.
I think he beat Mayweather. I was shocked when Floyd got the decision but after that was the last time he was any good. Anyone see the Forbes/DLH fight? I couldn’t believe that people would pay to see Oscar fight a guy who couldn’t even win the Contender Series against a part time fighter.
He looked Horrible in that fight and It was a clear indication that any fight after that would be a bad one.
Whoever said that Oscar needs the money… I doubt it. He owns Ring Magazine, Pro Wrestling Weekly, Golden Boy Promotions and has a little but very expensive share in Everlast. Plus he gets to go home to that wife of his! I might just go and slit my wrists now… ;^)
Also Dana saying that Mayweather would beat Manny P??? I dont think Dana took a good enough look at Manny P. I just hope that Hatton gets him at Light-Welter. That will be a sick fight.
Dana white should stop talking aboiut boxing. let him concentrate on ufc..or what was left of the original ufc. maybe if he is so tough he can fight the pacman himself.
also…mayweather is a defensive fighter..using only his arms and shoulder to shield the blows to the head. if he does that against manny, his side ( liver ) will be sooo open! besides, he is a braggart who should be taught a lesson!
It’s a shame de La Hoya couldn’t put up a better fight. I don’t feel too bad for him though, since he’s got even more millions now.
Oscar was a great draw, he should never be again. I now give Felix Trinidad credit for the victory against De La Hoya, I am now saying Ike Quartey was robbed in their fight and anyone else that lost a close decision to Oscar. That is what this loss did to him. He should never have asked a guy who just moved up to 135 to come up 12 more pounds and two weight classes to fight him.
What would that win have done for Oscar?
Everybody was assuming he would win, he is the bigger guy. I would not have thought more highly about him had he won and I would not have thought less about Pacman had he lost. The flip side is that Pacman is amazing and Oscar De La Hoya was an overhyped prize fighter that was never that good. Not nearly as good as the top guys around his weight class during his prime:
Trinidad, Winky Wright, Vernon Forrest, Shane Mosley.
That is in his own weight class, even in his prime!
He should have called on Margarito, but Mosley (who is truly the man who does not duck & dodge) took that opportunity.
dennis said:
Dana white should stop talking aboiut boxing. let him concentrate on ufc..or what was left of the original ufc. maybe if he is so tough he can fight the pacman himself.
Hmm…Well, maybe Golen Boy should focus on boxing??? At least the most influential man on MMA (Dana White) has faught and knows what it’s like to be in the ring. Maybe that experience is why he has the most successful fight organization.
And as long as some of you have the freedom to speak your minds and talk trash…I think Dana can what the F*** he wants. Too bad for some of you he’s right 99.9% of the time. Get a clue people
Dr. Doom
Love the boxing nostalgia but Leonard vs. Hearns, Holmes vs. Cooney and Hagler vs. Duran were on closed-circuit pay per view and not accessible free on TV. The Haugen vs. Pazienza and Brown vs. Starling bouts were free and you are right – classic matches.
I guess its a matter of taste. I enjoy watching boxing matches between 2 decent boxers versus 2 decent MMA fighter rolling around on a mat going for a submission or arm bar. I think boxing will be around long after the UFC is gone.
A few things on that, why do u come to that conclusion? Are u not a fan of MMA? If you are how/why do u find boxing more entertaining than MMA? And if u aren’t a fan of MMA I do believe u might be at the wrong site..
Also remember when boxing was good u had Hagler, Hearns, Sugrar Ray, Tyson ect and most the fights were battles and didn’t cost 55 dollars to see a lop sided fight
Nick Nitropolis, if you have the ability to appreciate boxing, which most of us do… I don’t understand why you don’t appreciate mma. MMA includes boxing, wrestling, judo, bjj, and many more disciplines.
Knowing that you have to have knowledge and experience in so many areas and then have to compete…knowing the fight could be a boxing match, wrestling, ground and pound, bjj, pick your poison and/or a combination of anything in ONE fight…I would think you would find it a little more interesting.
I hate to break it to you Nick Nitropolis but, “the sweet science” isn’t the only science, isn’t the most complex and isn’t the most entertaining anymore. My apologies if I sound rude but…mma is all encompassing and it’s not going anywhere. The other disciplines (including boxing) will exist because mma exists.
Nick Nitropolis- While I agree that good boxing is awesome to watch it is rare to find that much these days. The sheer volume of good fights in MMA the last few years has surpassed what boxing has done in the same time span. However, if it were not for the earlier successes of boxing MMA would not exist like it does today. It is a matter of taste. Coming from both a Thai Boxing and SAMBO background really does give me a greater respect for both striking and ground work. I will admit though that there are a lot of fighters that just tend to lay and pray, but when there is a true master on the ground it is incredible to watch(see Maia, Big Nog, Fedor, Curran). Like I said though it is about taste and it only matters what you are willing to pay(or look for) for. To be honest though as a fan of boxing you couldn’t tell me you would have paid the $60 to see De La Hoya look that bad!
Chris L., well put
Re: “I think boxing will be around long after the UFC is gone.”
Yeah, I agree with FR, he’s on the wrong site. You guys are giving Nick too much credit when it comes to the ground fighting, he is obviously not interested in any sort of grappling, all he wants to see is a stand up fight. I bet he didn’t see anything wrong with ProElite paying fighters to stand up either.
Dana, I’m currently deployed to Afghanistan and just saw your commercial for “Fight for the Troops,” which airs here tomorrow morning. My son owns Mat Santos Fighting Academy in Cranston, Rhode Island and I’d love to see him fight. Can you make that happen, before I leave at the end of Feb 09? We enjoy catching your show when we can, keep them coming!
Thank You for your time and consideration,
Lt Col Mat Santos
May I remind everyone that De la Hoya is the CEO of Golden Boy Productions? Golden Boy Productions has held many of Manny P’s fights, and DLH giving him that fight was his big ticket to make a new name for boxing. However, I am the saddest person to feel this way, but DLH underestimated his fans in the hugest way. I grew up watching DLH fight the best fights, and he was my hero. But seeing him go down like that was the biggest insult to his supporters, because he didn’t even act it out well.
De la Hoya, no matter how rough he looked that night, was in the total power to own that fight, but he is all about his business now, and Manny P is boxing’s next biggest meal ticket. Manny P has superstar potential, and a nation of new boxing fans to be created with the filipino community, so I understand why it was done this way. DLH hasn’t been the same fighter since he got married, everyone who knows who his wife is has heard her say she doesn’t like him boxing, and this is his way out while introducing the Pac-man as the guy who kept the Golden Boy to a draw. It’s the saddest way to see DLH go, because it was a cheap shot to all his biggest fans, including myself.
Pacman is with Top-Rank Promotions with bob arum not GBP