The always verbally combative White Man, first name Dana, lashed back at boxing critics Bob Arum and Big Gary Shaw in a lengthy video interview with UFC mouthpiece Ariel Helwani.
White, head of the monolithic UFC owned by Zuffa Ltd., ripped into both Arum and Shaw specifically as to suggestions they allegedly made about the possibility of UFC committing antitrust violations in its business practices.
White figures to get counterpunched by the usually strident Arum but, as for Shaw, he’s content to let Boston native White shadowbox.
“I’ve got enough battles, enough fights, in the boxing world,” Shaw told me by phone on Monday. “I don’t need to pick on anyone else.
“I never said anything about UFC and antitrust. I don’t know what Arum said along those lines, I have no clue on that.
“What I said, and what I stand by, is that UFC buying out (rival) Strikeforce was I thought a brilliant move by the Fertitas (brothers who hired and co-own UFC along with White),” Shaw said.
“It’s not good for the fighters in the UFC and it’s not good for the fans. I said that, I stand by those remarks. I don’t know why he (White) is comparing HBO or Showtime to pay per view because there is a difference. As I say, I’ve got enough battles in boxing.”
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For his part, White labeled Shaw “a moron” said Shaw has only run three boxing shows this year, all of them on Showtime (not entirely accurate as Shaw’s been involved in some HBO dates). White asserted that UFC has done “11 shows (this year) with four of them on actually free TV.”
Shaw and White clashed in the past when the fight promoter expanded into MMA with now defunct EliteXC which had its fights carried on Showtime. Shaw is now strictly focused on boxing events.
In his diatribe, White did not lay a glove on Oscar De La Hoya, saying the now in drug rehab promoter did not lambaste MMA in general or thriving UFC in particular.
“Nothing (to say) on De La Hoya,” White said. “He said they (MMA and boxing) are two different animals.”
Something tells me Arum will be more aggressive in responding to White, who also accused Arum and his Top Rank company “of copying everything we do.”