According to Simon Jordan, the collapse of another major boxing fight, specifically Tyson Fury's anticipated heavyweight undisputed match with Oleksandr Usyk, could lead to the UFC surpassing boxing as the top combat sport.
On Wednesday, boxing enthusiasts were left frustrated when the long-awaited heavyweight undisputed bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk failed to materialize, despite both boxers and their representatives engaging in rigorous negotiations since the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, a final agreement was not reached.
During a post-fight interview at UFC 286, UFC president Dana White, who is a big boxing fan, expressed his surprise that negotiations for the highly-anticipated four-belt bout were proving to be so difficult. He stated,
"Welcome to boxing, boys. Is it shocking? Yes. Is it 'shocking?' No. That's just how boxing works. The big fights that should happen never happen, and when they do, it's always late. As a fan, that used to drive me crazy, and it's part of how I designed this company to be different. We try to make the big fights when it's time to make the big fights."
Meanwhile, despite previously expressing his distaste for MMA, Simon Jordan believes that boxing fans may soon flock to the UFC due to years of frustration with unfulfilled promises and missed opportunities in the sport. In an interview with Jim White on talkSPORT, he shared his evolving opinion of boxing, stating, "The more I look at it, despite my absolute enthusiasm for the sport, the more I find boxing quite an unpalatable space of disingenuity and people who say they are going to do something and never seem to do it."
Jordan is growing tired of boxing’s failure to make the big fights.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. I know it’s show business. I know that all the moving parts are difficult to put together but there’s such an underserving sport because these guys are getting paid an inordinate amount of money, they are living on currency, which most of the time is talk.
“Most of the time they don’t tell the truth and when you confront them with not telling the truth they blabber or try to [bulls***] you around it. And now you’ve got fights that can’t be made.
“It is wrong and what you’ll start seeing is spaces for sports like UFC and MMA taking the mantle because people are going to say, ‘Well, at least I know where I stand with that sport.’
“You’re going to see people like Dana White turn around and say, ‘I’ll tell you what I’ll do, I’ll get involved with boxing because these guys are clowns."
Despite repeatedly discussing the possibility of a crossover into boxing, UFC president Dana White has yet to make it a reality. Instead, his current focus is on his latest venture, Power Slap.
However, White recently announced that he will soon be entering the boxing market and has vowed to "make boxing interesting" again. This news will undoubtedly excite fight fans who have been longing for a fresh approach to the sport.