Oscar De La Hoya Accuses Zuffa Boxing of ‘Trojan Horse’ Fighter Pay Plan

Golden Boy’s founder claims premium purses are drawing stars through the door before fighter pay eventually falls under a UFC-style model.

Oscar De La Hoya says Zuffa Boxing is paying premium purses to attract boxing’s biggest names before changing its financial model. He warned fighters that today’s lucrative deals will not reflect what future signings receive if the promotion secures the influence it wants.

De La Hoya laid out why he believes the current spending spree is only the first step.

“Today, Zuffa Boxing is the Trojan horse. They are overpaying a few boxers to make it seem like this big money will continue, but it won’t. The money faucet just keeps flowing once they monopolize the sport like they want to. Zuffa will pay fighters peanuts. It’s a scam. Exactly like the UFC. It’s the same model. It’s not right. They want to change the Muhammad Ali Act so they can operate as their own league with their own rules, their own rankings, their own unicorn belt,” said De La Hoya during this week’s Clap Back Thursday.

“They’re luring in the biggest names for fight deals. No long contracts. That’s why you see Shakur and Conor signing a one- or two-fight deal. Never a long-term deal. This is the Trojan horse. This is how they work you. They are overpaying the household names in order to look pretty and gain credibility so more up-and-coming fighters will sign with them. Mark my words, once they get you to sign, they’re going to scale all payment back just like they have with the UFC.

“The younger generation feels this kind of money will be available to them at Zuffa Boxing. The truth is they’ll be tricked into a very shitty contract where they must fight for only the unicorn belt.”

De La Hoya finished by urging fighters to look beyond the current paydays. In his view, the spending cannot continue forever, and he believes those entering the promotion later will find a much different financial landscape than the stars signing deals today.

🚨 “ZUFFA BOXING IS THE TROJAN HORSE”

Oscar De La Hoya: “Zuffa Boxing is the Trojan Horse. They are overpaying a few boxers to make it seem like this big money will continue but it won’t. Once they monopolize the sport like they want to, Zuffa will pay fighters peanuts — exactly… pic.twitter.com/SnRS3hmTzV

— EverythingBoxing | Darshan Desai (@EverythingBoxi2) July 23, 2026

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