Oscar De La Hoya says boxing 'will be better off without Dana White': 'He doesn't belong in the sport'

Golden Boy Promotions chief Oscar De La Hoya says Dana White has no place in boxing and that the sport "will be better off" without him. The former six-division world champion made the comments in a sit-down segment with DAZN, which DAZN Boxing posted on X on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. Bad Left Hook published longer excerpts from the interview the same day.

"He doesn't belong in the sport"

Asked about White's move into boxing with Zuffa Boxing, De La Hoya went straight on the attack.

"First of all, he doesn't belong in the sport. The fact that they're trying to monopolize boxing just the way they did with the UFC, is not going fly with anybody," De La Hoya said. "You're not going to erase the history of the sport of boxing, you're not going to erase the world titles that fighters want to fight for. You're not going to cheat the fighters from the monies they deserve like you do with the UFC."

He added: "I believe that Dana White should stick to his lane and do what he does best in the combat sport, on the UFC, and let us promoters who know what we're doing, do what we do. That's it. We should all just stick in our lanes and do what we do best. Boxing will be better off without Dana White."

The accusation that the UFC underpays fighters is De La Hoya's opinion; White and Zuffa Boxing had not publicly responded to the comments at the time of writing.

Timing

The interview lands days after Zuffa Boxing's biggest setback so far. On Monday, October 19, WBO junior welterweight champion Shakur Stevenson announced that he had requested and been granted a release from the promotion, which he signed with in July, without ever fighting under its banner. Zuffa has continued to add names, announcing the signing of WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames on October 13.

"The best fighting the best" on DAZN

De La Hoya also spoke about Golden Boy's place among the promoters working with DAZN.

"What it presents to Golden Boy is the best fighting the best. Now we can go to PBC, we can go to Eddie Hearn, we can go to any promoter under DAZN and make the best fights happen. That's music to my ears. That's what I've been preaching for years," he said.

He named several Golden Boy prospects he believes will become stars: "This next generation of young talent is better than the actual one. That's what excites me. Josh Edwards, Darius Fulgham, Amari Jones, fighters like... Floyd Schofield is going to be a superstar."

Hall of Fame goal as a promoter

De La Hoya, already enshrined as a fighter, said his long-term goal is to be inducted again for his work outside the ring.

"I see myself as a boxing Hall of Famer and I see myself as a boxing Hall of Famer as a promoter," he said. "So we have a long way to go but it's my dream, my goal, to become a Hall of Famer once again, as a promoter."