Oscar De La Hoya seems ready to bury the hatchet with UFC CEO Dana White, but that doesn’t mean the two will ever see eye-to-eye when it comes to MMA fighters crossing over into the world of boxing.
White, who was a major proponent in setting up Conor McGregor’s historic boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. back in 2017, has refused to book any more crossovers fights since then. UFC had a prime opportunity to retain former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and help him test his skills inside of the boxing ring, but instead the promotion battled Ngannou over his contract and eventually cut ties in early 2023.
That freed up Ngannou to sign a deal with Professional Fighters League (PFL), which is allowing the former UFC heavyweight champion the luxury to pursue a few major boxing matches. The first came against Tyson Fury late last year — in which Ngannou lost but showed just how good he can be — and now the second is set to come this March as “Predator” meets Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia.
De La Hoya, who is still entrenched in the sport of boxing since ending his own professional career over 15 years ago, has always had bad blood with White. The two can never seem to get on the right track, but entering the new year it seems as if “Golden Boy” has no issues with the UFC frontman.
“I have no beef with him whatsoever,” De La Hoya told Mania’s Alex Behunin on Friday. “He’s in the MMA world, I’m in boxing. Now if he’s going to come into boxing that’s a whole different story. Then you’re coming into my world. Then we’ll hopefully sit down and talk, but in the meantime I have nothing to say about him. I literally have nothing to say about him.”
It’s nice to know that De La Hoya is ready to bury the hatchet with White, but there’s still one major thing that separates the two. That is White’s disdain for crossover fights and De La Hoya’s belief that more MMA fighters should take a run at bigger boxing paydays.
“The only thing I have to say about that is I think I heard Dana White say something about, ‘These MMA fighters are not making more money in boxing.’ All I can say or do is laugh. Like are you kidding me? Why do you think MMA fighters are going into boxing and crossing over for the payday?
“That’s the bottom line. And to test their skill, which is admirable because a MMA fighter going into a ring with an elite fighter not only takes balls but you have to believe in yourself and your skill. And that’s admirable.
“When Dana White’s saying they’re not making more money it’s bulls—t. They’re making tons of money inside of the ring in boxing. That’s the bottom line. That’s why you’re seeing Joshua with Ngannou. These guys are warriors.”