Dana White is facing a fresh round of criticism from the boxing world over the timing of the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight.
Oscar De La Hoya blasted White in a Wednesday ESPN appearance, calling the UFC boss “disrespectful” for scheduling the fight just three weeks prior to the long-awaited battle between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.
De La Hoya, who has been critical of the McGregor fight, offered a fresh round of criticism Wednesday.
“It was disrespectful,” De La Hoya said, via TMZ Sports. “I would have thought that Dana White would have a little more respect with this boxing event taking place, because look, you just don’t do that. It’s like having the Super Bowl and then three weeks later the World Series takes place, the final game. It just doesn’t happen.
“We have the whole year to stage these types of big events … They could have maybe staged it in November or December but, look, it is what it is. We have a superfight here. We have a real fight, and that’s exactly what we’re focusing on.”
Canelo-GGG will be a huge draw for De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions, but there’s little doubt that having a major fight a few weeks earlier will take away from some of their business. Fans who pay $100 to see Mayweather-McGregor might be less likely to shell out similar money for another highly-touted fight a few weeks later.
It’s no surprise that De La Hoya wouldn’t take kindly to competition from another fight he has long been dismissive of.
