Arum on New TKO Promotion: "They Have a Serious Problem"

Top Rank founder and veteran promoter Bob Arum has shared his concerns about the newly launched TKO Boxing league, led by Turki Alalshikh, head of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, and UFC President Dana White.

"They’ve got a serious problem, because their main business is UFC. When UFC fighters see how much less they’re making compared to the boxers — especially when all the money is coming from the same company — there’s going to be trouble.

Dana already has enough headaches. I’ve seen the contracts — they’re not huge, but they’re still much bigger than what UFC fighters make.

How do you think they’re going to react?"

Arum also questioned whether he would be willing to collaborate with the new promotion:

"Honestly, I’m not sure if I’m interested in working with them or staging fights together. We’re focused on our fighters. We’ve worked with PBC, and you saw tonight we even had a fighter from Matchroom on our main card. We’ve always successfully worked with other promoters — Oscar De La Hoya, for example. I don’t see any problems there.

When people come into boxing, they want to conquer it. But I’ve been in this business a long time, and I hope to be here even longer.

I don’t take these big statements seriously. I’m sure we’ll keep getting stronger and putting on even more boxing events than before," Arum concluded.