There are two comments made by Dana White about Gary Shaw, one more specific than the other, and the latter deserves to be verified. The first:
And the second, by far the more specific of the two:
To be sure, Dana White has been a fan a lot longer than Shaw, although he himself is also a convert from boxing. And it wouldn't surprise me if White were right about Shaw previously making derogatory comments about MMA before seeing monetary opportunities. The problem is I haven't been able to find any record of Shaw saying anything negative. That doesn't mean he didn't, but unlike Bob Arum or Don King, there isn't a clear record of disgust. In fact, the only thing I could find was this:
Again, it may not even really matter that Shaw made negative comments about MMA. At some point, everyone becomes a convert. It's hard to hold a grudge about old comments once someone has seen the light. But nevertheless, I just thought I'd put this out there: if you can find anything Gary Shaw has said or written prior to his engagement with EliteXC about mixed martial arts, please post it in the comments section of this thread. I wouldn't be surprised if he has, but I'd also like to know if White is exaggerating the extent to which Shaw may have viewed MMA: was he outright negative or perhaps just a little indifferent or maybe even even neither?
Let me know what you find.
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