Dana White vs. Bob Arum

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Outspoken UFC president Dana White is a big Manny Pacquiao fan, but he’s not so keen on Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum.

White reacted angrily Monday to comments Arum made in an ESPN.com story about the head-to-head competition on Nov. 12 between a UFC show and Arum’s pay-per-view card featuring the rubber match between Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.

The UFC will make its highly anticipated network television debut on Fox that night in a show from Anaheim, Calif. The UFC on Fox shows are supposed to be two-hour broadcasts, but because the Pacquiao fight was already scheduled for that night, the UFC opted to go for just one hour on Fox so that its card would end about a half-hour before Pacquiao walks to the ring.

That would give the fans an opportunity to see both shows live.

Arum, though, told ESPN.com he thought the decision to go on the same night was intentional. He took a dig at the UFC by saying he’d have more competition if Fox opted to air a movie.

“There is no competition,” Arum said. “If Fox was to put on a top movie that night, it might be more competition. If Fox put on Manchester United that night, it would be more competition.”

White and Arum have always had a contentious relationship. Arum in the past has compared ground fighting in mixed martial arts to homosexual sex, while White has repeatedly mocked him for his age and referred to him as a dinosaur.

But after learning of Arum’s comments on Monday, the ante was raised. White took full aim at Arum and his stepson, Todd duBoef, who is president of Top Rank. One of duBoef’s closest friends is Ike Lawrence Epstein, the executive vice president and general counsel for Zuffa, the company that owns the UFC.

White disparagingly referred to duBoef as “Todd Arum” and assailed Arum and duBoef for being greedy and not investing in their product.

“Let me tell you what: Todd Arum went crazy when he found out that we were going the same night as them,” White told Yahoo! Sports. “He went crazy and called everyone in the industry flipping out. And Bob Arum is a jealous moron. Bob Arum had the ability to do great things for the sport of boxing. I don’t know if he wasn’t smart enough to do what we did or whatever, but when we first came out with this thing, this guy laughed at us. He said how stupid the Fertittas were and that this thing was ridiculous and it would never be a sport.

“Now, all he does is run around [expletive] and complaining about it. You had the ability, Bob Arum, to make boxing great. But the problem was, you were greedy. You’re a greedy pig, just like all the other guys who were involved in boxing. All you ever did was try to rip money out of it. You never invested a dime into the sport of boxing to make it great, to make it last, to create a future for boxing. He’s nothing but a greedy pig and his jealousy shows non-stop.”

White said he found Arum’s comments to ESPN that a movie would be more competition curious because he said duBoef called numerous television executives complaining that the UFC was going head-to-head with him.

In a conversation with Yahoo! Sports, Arum bit his tongue and said he had nothing bad to say about White or the UFC. He said he’s considering buying an ad for the Pacquiao fight that would air on Fox during the UFC show.

Arum did reiterate his position that he believed a “high-quality, first-run movie would be more competition for us. That’s true.”

But he said that since the UFC show won’t extend into the time when Pacquiao is fighting, it’s even less worrisome to him that the MMA show is going the same night as the boxing card.

“I wasn’t worried in the least, ever, but particularly not now, since we found out they’re going just one hour and won’t be on when Manny’s fighting,” Arum said. “Dana White and the UFC are of no consequence to me. I don’t worry about him. I don’t worry about the UFC. I don’t think of him for a second of a day. I have nothing against them, but they’re just not part of my world.”

White said Nov. 12 isn’t an ideal night for the UFC but also said there are few nights on the crowded sports landscape where there is no competition.

“The fact of the matter is, I love the sport of boxing and it isn’t the greatest night in the world for me, either,” White said. “But it is what it is. There are so many events out there that we have to compete with, from the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA, college football, college basketball, boxing. The list goes on and on. I mean, if we tried to tiptoe around dates, we’d never put on an event.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AjAPSzvdRNOT.zWwiULdCJqUxLYF?slug=ki-iole_dana_white_bob_arum_feud_082211

vs.

Trash.

eh

OU wrote:

Trash.

Ali wrote:

OU wrote:

Trash.

It's a fucking moron talking shit with a fucking douche bag about a subject that isn't worth mentioning in the first place. You can't read a single quote from either man without rolling your eyes, it's impossible.

OU wrote:

Ali wrote:

OU wrote:

Trash.

It's a fucking moron talking shit with a fucking douche bag about a subject that isn't worth mentioning in the first place. You can't read a single quote from either man without rolling your eyes, it's impossible.

It's just funny to watch them go at it.

Dana pwns noobs

The boxing guys are truly terrified of the UFC now.

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Boxing promoter Lou DiBella is solidly in White’s corner this time. A former boxing executive at HBO, DiBella knows the sport inside and out, and no one is more upset with the state of boxing than he is.

“I agree with a lot of what [Dana White] said,” DiBella told ESPN.com. “There’s no question that when Don [King] and Bob [Arum] dominated this business for literally generations, that not a lot was invested back in the business. Frankly, Bob Arum admitted as much at his Hall of Fame induction. And the sport is in worse condition today than it’s ever been.

“I don’t believe there is any intentional counter-programming by the UFC. What are they going to do, go against a World Series game that includes the Yankees?

“I’m not out there hating on [UFC]; I don’t think they’re trying to hurt boxing.”

The damage boxing currently experiences, for the most part, is self-inflicted, according to DiBella.

He says too many high-profile boxers are unwilling to stand in the pocket and fight. Their failure to engage is a huge turnoff for today’s young (18- to 34-year-old) fans, who crave nonstop action.

“If a guy fights in retreat, Dana’s not putting him on again,” DiBella said. “He has an advantage because [UFC] is a monopoly. But that aside, you have to know what people find entertaining. If you move backward, and I don’t care if a writer says he’s a good fighter, the public doesn’t want to see him.

“Boxing has lost sight of the fact that it’s a subset of the entertainment business. And Dana has not forgotten that.”

Like many longtime boxing insiders, DiBella once found it difficult to watch a mixed martial arts bout. Boxing is deeply embedded in his soul, and nothing will change that.

But he no longer looks at MMA with disdain. Like many boxing aficionados, DiBella now enjoys watching mixed martial artists display their skills, and he credits UFC with changing his opinion.

“I had not been a big fan of MMA,” DiBella said. “But I now understand it more as a sport, and respect how the UFC is conducting their business. I’m impressed.”

Quote :

"I agree with a lot of what [Dana White] said. There's no question that when Don [King] and Bob [Arum] dominated this business for literally generations, that not a lot was invested back in the business. Frankly, Bob Arum admitted as much at his Hall of Fame induction. And the sport is in worse condition today than it's ever been."

Quote :

"If a guy fights in retreat, Dana's not putting him on again. He has an advantage because [UFC] is a monopoly. But that aside, you have to know what people find entertaining. If you move backward, and I don't care if a writer says he's a good fighter, the public doesn't want to see him. Boxing has lost sight of the fact that it's a subset of the entertainment business. And Dana has not forgotten that."

Lou Dibella

http://www.mmamania.com/2011/8/24/2382129/boxing-promoter-sides-with-dana-white-against-greedy-bob-arum

DW is to a degree an asshole, I can see it and believe it. Can someone on this board please show me an example of a successful businessperson who at some point in their rise to the top wasn't an asshole? He is aggressive, driven, focused, he has a plan for the company he runs and he tries to give the fans what they want. But to accomplish his goals and stay on the path, he is going to run some people off the road and it pisses them off. Fuck em! Get in the race or get out of the fucking way!

bobbitt15 wrote:

Dana pwns noobs

he def owned Arum here. Arum was sent scrambling. And he deserved it, he should try to figure out what he's talking about b4 talking about it.