Teddy Atlas says boxing needs a ‘dictator’ like Dana White

As the UFC brand and MMA as a sport continue to grow, the sport of boxing finds itself still struggling to stay at the top of the combat sports world. There are several ongoing complaints in the world of boxing, and Teddy Atlas feels he has the answer to boxing’s issues.

Talking on his podcast about how fans miss out on matchups due to the politics of boxing, Atlas said the biggest change that can happen to benefit the sport is to make it more like the UFC. Atlas said the best thing for boxing to do is to get a promoter — or “dictator” — like UFC President Dana White involved.

“I’ll tell you how it changes, make boxing the UFC,” Atlas said. “Get Dana White, it’s not happening, but he’s a dictator. You know what, dictators usually are not good but sometimes in some places, they can be useful.”

Teddy Atlas would go on to say that the UFC has grown as much as it has because of Dana White’s presence and the fact that he’s able to make the rules within the UFC when it comes to make fights and such.

“The UFC and the building of that product, the development, the building, and the growing of the UFC — and boy did they grow — was because they have a dictator. Because the dictator can make all the rules. There was no separate powers. There’s no one saying we are fighting on our network, or our network, or our network, and we do what we want to do. There was one place, one guy laying the rules out. You fight him, or you’re out.”

“You know what? That’s why he [Dana White] grew that sport and he grew that product because he can demand competitive fights. That’s what you’re asking for. You just want competitive fights, that’s all the fans are asking for. He [White] can do it, because he’s a dictator.”

Teddy Atlas has long been very vocal about his displeasure with boxing and the way they handle business in the sport. Do you agree with his opinion on Dana White and White’s handling of the UFC?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/12/2019.