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UFC President Dana White, A Huge Pacquiao Fan, Delivers First Toronto Event By Rob Cruz PhilBoxing.com Thu, 09 Dec 2010  Toronto, ON, Canada - UFC boss Dana White, who is currently in this city promoting UFC124 the first ever UFC event here billed as UFC131, has admitted to this writer that he is a huge Manny Pacquiao fan. As a Manny Pacquiao supporter, Dana White owns and sports Manny Pacquiao?s apparel which demonstrates how much he adores and supports the pound for pound king even though his mandate is the UFC. White is no stranger to boxing, he openly admitted that before the UFC, he was a boxing guy. The larger than life UFC boss was broadcasted live on a two story HDTV screen for close to ninety minutes where White answered and entertained all the fans' questions and granted almost all their request in an unplugged and interactive fashion at Real Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Toronto. This unique and first class sports bar owned by Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment was voted as ESPN?s top sports bar in North America. The media in Toronto buzzed for the UFC as Dana White got the maximum media mileage as he was broadcasted simultaneously inside the Sports bar and on several giant screens outside the Air Canada Center during the rush hour traffic. Dana White expressed how much he loved the City of Toronto, from its hotels, restaurants and everything about it. The UFC has selected the finest sports bar available for their functions at Real Sports and has surpassed the presentation methods of how boxing traditionally holds their pressers here in Toronto. According to White, Toronto is their top pound for pound market due to the highest UFC pay per view sales that came from this city. During the UFC fan appreciation day, Dana White spoke about boxing whenever he could and utilized the sport as an example. He mentioned that he and the UFC are committed to putting together big fights and also make them exciting to watch for the fans. White mentioned that the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Oscar De La Hoya superfight was hyped up and didn?t live up to its potential and ended up as a boring fight. The UFC boss also stated that he was in Dallas, Texas last November for the Pacquiao vs. Margarito fight and gave it a full thumbs up. He mentioned that the Pacquiao vs. Margarito event at the Cowboys stadium was well put together and that stadium was a great place to hold an event. Dana White expressed that the UFC131 Toronto premiere set for April 30, 2011, will have the same feel as if you were in Vegas or any UFC event anywhere, Furthermore, White stated that the event in Toronto will have the same ambience as the Cowboys Stadium when Pacquiao fought Margarito. The UFC boss predicts that they will break their own attendance record for UFC124 in Montreal and set a attendance record again in Toronto for UFC131 which will be held at Rogers Center. Furthermore, White stated that putting together the Toronto Event will probably be the highlight of his career. It has been talked about in several publications ?what if? Dana White promoted boxing like the way he promotes the UFC? Would it take someone like Dana White to get a Pacquiao vs. Mayweather fight signed, sealed and delivered? As a fight fan, Dana White has made it publicly known that he wants to see and that he is dying to see Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. According to White, it probably won?t happen due to the drug-testing demands that Mayweather Jr. has made even though Pacquiao has never been tested positive for steroids. The UFC Boss is bang on with his comment, the rules of the fight should be up to the Nevada Athletic Commission who makes the rules. Comparing Boxing and MMA is like comparing apples and oranges, however the business acumen, advertising and fan based relationships that Dana White brings into the fight business is something that boxing has lost. White has nurtured and managed the UFC into the fastest growing global sport worth an estimated two billion dollars and growing. The UFC?s presence in Toronto is at it?s infancy, it?s only the beginning and the bar has been raised high. Golden Boy Promotions was also in Toronto a couple of months ago to promote the Pascal vs. Hopkins fight in Quebec City. How will Oscar De La Hoya respond to the way that Dana White and the UFC made a big splash in town? Will Golden Boy Productions actually put up a boxing event in Toronto or has the UFC left them in the dust? Toronto is the Mecca for Ice Hockey and it is headed to become another Mecca for MMA because of the huge fan base support in town. Historically, the Ontario Athletic Commission spear headed by Ken Hayashi has not been to kind to the fight business here in Ontario whether it is boxing or the recently sanctioned UFC. MMA was previously considered as an unsanctionable and illegal prized fighting in this province for such a long time until the UFC educated members of the government in Ontario and convinced them that MMA can be sanctioned safely and securely. What remains to be seen now that MMA events has been legalized in here is how will it affect the future of boxing. Due to the revenue and taxes that the UFC will bring in towards the economy and government, how will the two sports co-exist and will boxing be treated in a fair and equitable manner by the governing bodies? Will the presence of MMA and UFC be a positive or negative influence for Boxing in Ontario? Time will tell and it won?t be too long. The people promoting boxing in the Toronto Region including Golden Boy Promotions must pay attention to what is happening in the fight business and where it is headed. The UFC has served it?s notice and it?s purpose in town. Top photo: UFC President Dana White (R) with the author in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rob Cruz.  |
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