De La Hoya Bashes Dana White Over Ben Askren’s Struggles – ‘They Care About Their Bottom Line’

Oscar De La Hoya has slammed Dana White, blaming him for Ben Askren’s struggles in not being able to cover his medical costs following his recent struggles with pneumonia.

Askren, a former Bellator and ONE Championship belt holder, joined the UFC in 2018. While he did not win a UFC title, Askren became a fan favorite. His health deteriorated after battling pneumonia. He was hospitalized for 58 days, with Askren’s condition worsened to the point where he needed a double lung transplant. However, Askren’s health insurance was insufficient to cover the cost.

Jake Paul, after his fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., stepped in and donated $500,000 to help cover the medical expenses. However, Askren’s need to turn to the public for financial support sparked outrage. While there are reports that White stepped in to offer financial help, the fact that Askren needed help was used by De La Hoya to make his point.

The UFC has been criticized for not paying fighters enough, as emphasised by their $375 million antitrust lawsuit, with suggestions they formed a monopoly to control how much a fighter could earn. This point has come to the fore after TKO Group Holding Inc.’s decision to form their own boxing promotion, as they will promote Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford.

De La Hoya Reacts

TKO has backed a new bill, The Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act, which wants to reform how sanctioning bodies, WBC, WBO, IBF, and WBA operate. The bill will create Unified Boxing Organizations to form their championship titles, rankings, give a minimum payment of $150 per round and give health coverage. However, De La Hoya only sees this ending in a struggle for fighters. 

“To make things easy to understand. His new league TKO is planning to pay fighters whatever they want, which will likely be pennies on the dollar based on the existing UFC model. The same model that leaves their fighters in broken bodies and empty bank accounts. The latest heartbreaking example is former UFC fighter Ben Askren, who needed a double lung transplant and couldn’t afford it, so he publicly had to ask for help. This is exactly my point. They don’t give a f*** about boxing, or fighters, or putting their lives on the line. They care about their bottom line and their stock price,” De La Hoya said