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UFC CEO Dana White and Showtime Sports’ Stephen Espinoza are trading shots ahead of this weekend’s Canelo-Charlo fight.
On Tuesday, White ripped into Espinoza amid reports that Showtime Boxing may be leaving boxing after 2024.
“F— Espinoza, and it’s about time that s—– product is off the air,”
@jzosportsmma Dana White reacts to Showtime potentially leaving boxing #danawhite #ufc #showtimeboxing
On Wednesday, Espinoza appeared to fire back at White by touting Showtime boxing’s gate sales compared to the UFC’s.
“No disrespect to anyone but there are levels to this,” Espinoza said during the Canelo vs. Charlo press conference. “What we’re doing here is the highest level of the sport. This is special. This is different. The event on Saturday night will generate a gate of over $20 million. That’s a rare feat in combat sports. It’s rare in concerts or events of any kind but this will be the third time in the last six months that we’ve done a gate of $20 million. Again, our third $20 million gate in the last six months. To put that in perspective, the UFC has never done a gate of $20 million in its entire history. We’ve done it three times since April. Like I said, this is special.”
Stephen Espinoza: The UFC has never done a gate of $20M in its entire history. We've done it 3 times since April. #CaneloCharlohttps://t.co/o5hTOg27OF
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 28, 2023
White saw Espinoza’s comment and posted a scathing takedown of his rival on Instagram.
“That’s exactly the type of response I would expect from that weasel Espinoza, “That scumbag has absolutely nothing to do with the success of Canelo [Alvarez], Ryan Garcia and Terence Crawford. Those guys are mega stars and they are the ones responsible for driving the gates in their fights. For him to even try and take any credit at all shows you what an arrogant, delusional [piece of s— ] that guy is.
“For this guy to talk about ‘levels’ is hilarious. The production of the fights on Showtime is an embarrassment and I have been saying that FOREVER. He is a little guy with a big yap and is a complete phony. I’m not at all surprised this is the end for them. It should have come way sooner. Sorry to see you go, Weasel. Enjoy your retirement.”