Boxing promoter Bob Arum has always had an adversarial relationship with UFC President Dana White and he’s ripped into him in a new interview over his plans to host UFC 249 on April 18th despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“[White] ought to be ashamed of himself,” Arum said on CBSSports. “What’s going on in this country and the world with this virus, the last thing we need is for an event to take place with no spectators just to get the event to take place. But the truth is Dana White is somebody with a flawed intelligence.”
He wasn’t finished there though.
“He’s not going to move forward with the card, and if the card happens with people dying in hospitals all over the United States, he ought to be ashamed of himself.The message should be stay home and stand down until this is over. Let’s not spread the virus, let’s control the virus and do what we can to staff these hospitals and take care of people who go into intensive care.
”Let’s all be big people and big boys about it and stop the grandstanding. This will end when it ends, and it will end quicker if we all stick together and do what we are supposed to do, not go and shout from the rafters that, ‘I’m not a p—y and I’m going to put this fight on. I don’t care.’ That is absolutely the wrong message to send.”
Of course you can rest assured that Arum’s words won’t trigger anything other than an angry reaction from White given his hatred for the boxing promoter, and if anything will only make him more determined to put the event on.
However, it’s likely that Arum won’t be the only high-profile figure to call out White and the UFC for this as the day of the event draws closer and it could lead to a potentialy very damaging media blacklash.
