Oscar De La Hoya has issued a damning verdict on Dana White’s first Zuffa Boxing show, which takes place on Friday evening at the Meta Apex, Las Vegas.
Before announcing this card, which is headlined by Callum Walsh vs Carlos Ocampo, the UFC CEO promised to blow the competition out of the water with his new promotional outfit.
Such bullish claims were supported by Turki Alalshikh, who, along with White, looks to establish a boxing league under the Zuffa banner.
Unbeaten contender Walsh certainly appears to be one of Zuffa’s flagship fighters, having previously worked with White on a series of UFC Fight Pass events.
The 24-year-old comes off a points victory over Fernando Vargas Jr, which made for a rather uneventful display on the Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford undercard in September.
In previous outings though, the Irishman has shown genuine signs of world-class potential, particularly in each of his 11 stoppage victories.
Ocampo, meanwhile, represents a seasoned customer whose only defeats have come against Tim Tszyu, Sebastian Fundora and Errol Spence Jr.
But while the main attraction seems a solid matchup on paper, Golden Boy promoter De La Hoya has largely mocked the event as a whole.
Speaking with ESNEWS, the Hall of Famer made no attempt to hide his true feelings towards White and Alalshikh’s first Zuffa promotion.
“They promised a new toy; they promised bigger and better [things], [saying] that me and Eddie Hearn don’t know what we’re doing.
“And you’re coming out with this? This is your big bang? Good luck, Dana. You’ve got to try a little harder, baby.”
It is hardly surprising that De La Hoya has shared such comments on the Walsh-Ocampo card, given that he and White have never exactly seen eye to eye.
