Dana White becoming a major player in boxing has been met with equal parts excitement and skepticism but a fighter whose career has been forever changed after associating with the UFC CEO believes this is exactly what the sport needs.
Callum Walsh, the undefeated 24-year-old Irish fighter who serves as the co-main event to Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford on Saturday, has been working with White for several years after catching his attention as one of the top prospects in the sport. White took
an interest in Walsh and immediately began pumping him up as a future star and even aired some of his bouts on UFC Fight Pass along the way.
While Walsh may be his favorite boxer, White is now getting involved with the sport on a much deeper level with the launch of Zuffa Boxing, which includes a full-fledge promotion officially launching in 2026. For all the concerns about bringing UFC style business operations to boxing, Walsh says he knows from personal experience that White operates with the best of intentions for the fighters.
“I like Dana,” Walsh told MMA Fighting. “Me and Dana have a great relationship. Dana has done so much for my career. He’s done so much for my life in general. I have no way of even repaying him, only by fighting and winning. The things that Dana has done for me, I’ll forever be loyal to Dana no matter what. I’ll always defend Dana. I’ll always do my best to talk well about him. Because he is a genuine good guy. He does care about the fighters. He does a lot behind the scenes that people don’t see.
“Obviously people talk shit online, everybody does but at the end of the day, I know Dana personally. I know the type of person he is and I think him being involved in boxing is very good for this sport. I think it’ll do a lot more good than it will do bad, what people are talking about.”
Not long after TKO Group Holdings officially announced plans to launch Zuffa Boxing, a new amendment was proposed in Congress that would allow the sport to operate under UFC style promotion.
That means an organization like Zuffa Boxing could create its own rankings, title belts and effectively serve as its own governing body, which is different than the current regulation created in part by the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 and the Muhammad Ali Act.
While that bill is still winding its way through the legislature, there are more than a few people involved with boxing that believe these potential changes aren’t actually good for the sport.
But Walsh disagrees, especially when it comes to White possibly operating under some nefarious means, because he’s seen firsthand how much having the UFC boss’ backing has meant to his own career.
“I think it’s a good opportunity,” Walsh said. “They’re going to make big fights happen. Like this already, the fights on this card, it’s stacked. It’s rare that you see a boxing card as stacked as this one. Usually there’s a good main event and you don’t know what the rest of it is. There’s maybe a couple of OK fights but this whole card is stacked. Even the prelims, there are good fights.
“You can see the difference that Dana and the UFC mentality is bringing over to boxing. It’s going to be very beneficial for the sport.”
As he prepares to fight Fernando Vargas Jr. in the co-main event on Saturday, Walsh expects this matchup to serve as just the latest step forward in his burgeoning career.
In fact, Walsh hopes that he continues to build and expand his relationship with White, especially now that TKO Boxing is getting off the ground.
“I would love to be Dana’s guy that he sends out to fight anybody. That’s my idea,” Walsh said. “I want to be the guy ‘we need this 154-pound fight, we need this 160-pound fight, who’s going to fight him? Oh, Callum will fight him.’
“I like the idea of going out and fighting anybody and proving I’m a real fighter. I’m trying to be the best in the world and genuinely know that I am because I fought anybody, anywhere.”
Before he can become White’s most loyal soldier under the new Zuffa Boxing banner, Walsh first has to dispatch Vargas on Saturday.
For all the attention being paid to this card and knowing that somebody as high profile as White is backing him, Walsh understands that there are definitely more expectations being heaped on his shoulders for a fight of this magnitude.
But don’t expect Walsh to crumble under the weight of it all because he truly believes this is just the next step towards championship gold and glory.
“I’m not feeling the pressure,” Walsh said. “I’m not really thinking about the atmosphere, the crowd. I understand I have one job to do and it’s no matter how many people are there. Whether it’s one person or whether there’s a million people. You have to go out there and win the fight. The main priority for me and the main thing on my mind is going out, performing and coming home with the win.
“After I get the knockout or I get my hand raised, I’ll be able to stand there in the ring, look around and think ‘what an accomplishment, what an atmosphere’ and be able to really take it in after. But I think right before, it’s all about doing a job and winning the fight and not letting anything else get in your head.”
