It’s not often that Dana White puts his feelings aside to give credit to somebody he has public hatred for. However, that was the case when questioned about Bob Arum, a man he has long been critical of, earlier this week.
Arum is among the absolute top tier of boxing promoters, having founded Top Rank and promoting some of the biggest fighters the sport has ever seen. Born in 1931, the legend has been at the top of the game for over 60 years, but not everybody is fond of his approach.
Dana White has openly expressed his dislike for Bob Arum, whom he previously considered ‘the biggest piece of sh*t in sports.’ Despite tensions between the two boiling over in the past, White decided to play peacemaker with his recent comments.
“Bob’s 94 years old, you know,” White said. “Yeah. You know, I sh*t on Bob Arum a lot because he’s a d***head, but let me tell you this. So, I was at a WNBA game in Vegas. The Aces, right. I don’t know, it’s 8:30, 9 o’clock, and I look across the court and Bob Arum is sitting there.”
“I’m like, ‘This guy’s 94 years old.’ He came to Mandalay Bay, came in, and watched this game. And then two days later, I see him sitting in Saudi Arabia in the front row at the fights. Then two days later, he’s in London.”
“At 94, it’s pretty gangster… It’s true. That’s serious. It’s pretty incredible.”
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Dana White prides himself on being an ambitious, work-hungry businessman who always looks ahead at what’s next. White has played a significant role in the evolution of combat sports and hopes his expertise in building from the ground up will ultimately lead to major success for his new project, Zuffa Boxing.
Even as one of the hardest workers in all of sports, White states he is unlikely to match Bob Arum’s work ethic when he reaches 94.
“We’ll be lucky if I’m at 70 doing that. But 94 is pretty impressive.”
