LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White has been rather critical of the state of boxing, but Saturday’s heavyweight trilogy bout might have changed his mind.
Tyson Fury retained his WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles when he knocked out Deontay Wilder in Round 11 in a back-and-forth fight that had some calling it the greatest heavyweight bout of all time. White also had nothing but praise for Fury and Wilder’s thrilling battle.
“I thought it was awesome,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, on Tuesday at the UFC Apex. “Going into it, my thought process was, ‘For what? Why?’ (Joshua) just got beat, and why do that? you know why? Because boxing needed that fight. It was an incredible heavyweight fight. I thought both guys fought their asses off and for Fury to come in 277 pounds and fight the way that he fought, get knocked down, get back up, keep fighting – it’s just exactly what boxing needed, so (I’m) glad it happened. Congratulations to both of them, everybody involved and the sport of boxing.”
White, who dabbled with the idea of Zuffa Boxing, appeared keen on making his mark in the boxing world by fixing the “broken model” and pitting the best against the best. But the UFC boss is yet to follow through, having put a halt to his plans in late 2020.
Dana White: Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder trilogy was ‘just exactly what boxing needed’