A lot can change in a month’s time.
Back in November, TKO Group Holdings president and chief operating officer Mark Shapiro pumped the brakes on getting involved in boxing after UFC CEO Dana White said he was prepared to go “guns blazing” into the sport after seeing all the issues that constantly plague many of the biggest fights, fighters and promotions. While the UFC’s owners at TKO still aren’t looking to invest any money to buy into boxing, Shapiro now says that company is actively looking at options to get involved in the sport.
“Look boxing is something we would do organically,” Shapiro said during the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference on Monday. “So nothing to buy, just something we’d start up and likely take a partner from the Middle East that would serve as an investment partner for us. So that’s something we’re exploring right now. Nothing to announce.”
Shapiro added that boxing would become a natural fit to expand programming on the UFC’s own streaming service after already adding grappling competitions, kickboxing and even wrestling events in recent years.
It’s unclear if that means a shift towards White’s declaration about going “guns blazing” into boxing but it definitely sounds like something the company wants to incorporate into the bigger picture where the UFC is involved.
“I think boxing, especially with Fight Pass, we own our own direct-to-consumer platform with the UFC where we put a lot of preliminary bouts from our fights, we put karate, jiu-jitsu, we’re doing more in wrestling and Fight Pass is owned and operated, if you will,” Shapiro said. “We think we can put some boxing there and really drive subscription growth for Fight Pass.”
One part of Shapiro’s statement from November that hasn’t changed is the financial component attached to a potential move into boxing.
From then to now, Shapiro clearly states that TKO isn’t looking to invest its own money into boxing, which would mean buying out an already existing promotion or perhaps purchasing contracts of certain fighters to begin building a roster under the UFC banner.
Instead, Shapiro believes TKO’s involvement in boxing would mean running a boxing event but using capital investment from an outside partner such as the ongoing business relationships the company has forged with governments in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.
“We’re not going to get into boxing by buying anything,” Shapiro explained. “Let me be clear about that. We’ve got a lot to integrate right now. We’re not on the hunt. I mean we always keep our eyes open because we’re not ignorant and stupid and foolish and we don’t let any hubris get inside our walls like ‘we’re all good.’ No, we have to be opportunistic.
“But we’ve got a lot to integrate. We’ve got to keep our eye on the ball. But if something is there, we’ll see if something is there.”
