George Groves warns Dana White and Turki Alalshikh won’t fix boxing

George Groves gives brutally honest opinion on Dana White entering boxing

Former WBA middleweight champion George Groves believes that from a boxer's point of view, White is geared to hurt the industry.

Groves, speaking at a Midnite Q&A event, explained, "I always look at boxing from the boxer’s point of view and not the fan’s point of view. To get the very best fights you have to build fighters properly to get them being at their very best.

"So all these ‘Records don’t matter, put them in early,’ you ruin fighters by putting them in early in too tougher tests or 50/50 fights. Someone’s going to suffer."

MMA is notorious for ruining prospects young, some UFC fighters receive title shots in their second or third fights, but this is a symptom of the UFC acting as a promoter and a league, which wouldn't work with boxing's Ali Act protecting fighter rights.

That doesn't mean UFC ownership isn't trying to 'amend' the Ali Act. Fighter pay is another matter.

"The money that the UFC fighters are paid compared to boxers is incomparable - it’s peanuts," Grove continued. "That’s why anyone that gets a big enough name in the UFC transitions over to boxing like Conor McGregor or what not.

"I wouldn’t say he is good for boxing, but that’s from a boxer’s point of view and not a fan’s point of view. But I don’t think he’ll be able to complete boxing, I don’t think anyone can."

Saudi money won't last, says Groves

Reflecting on Turki Alalshikh's involvement in boxing, Groves believes it won't last, adding to a long list of investors who have come and gone in the sport.

"Everyone’s desperate to be part of Riyadh Season, desperate to be friends with Turki Alalshikh because he’s got so much money. But at some point he’s going to get bored of running at a loss so maybe that’s why Dana White’s on his way in.

"Every now and again you get a gift in boxing and you get overpaid. DAZN came in ‘We’ve got a billion dollars’. Great, a quarter of that is going to Canelo. Who else are you going to sign? You sign two more fighters and they’re going to want the same as Canelo and you’ve got no money left.

“Before them it was PBC who came in with massive investment. MTK was throwing money around. This stuff doesn’t last forever."

Fans will have to wait and see whether Canelo-Crawford is a 'jumping the shark' moment for Saudi-backed boxing. The Canelo headlined Times Square event fell flat, and is it really sustainable practice for every headlining fighter at these shows to receive nine-figure purses?

That's where White's TKO boxing league would come in with its proposed salary structure, which aims to improve the bottom line for budding fighters, while severely capping earning potential for top boxers. White has gone on record speaking against boxing salaries before.

Whether White and TKO sink their teeth into the Ali Act is another matter, which could seriously affect the future of boxing as we know it.