TKO Group Holdings, a new entity that oversees UFC and WWE, is interested in opening a boxing division.
The merger brought together the MMA market-leader UFC with pro wrestling's market-leader under one $21 billion roof.
Key figures in this massive enterprise are WWE's Vince McMahon as executive chairman of TKO, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel as CEO of TKO, and UFC's Dana White as president and CEO of UFC.
Hollywood titan Endeavor owns 51% controlling interest in TKO, with WWE shareholders owning the remaining 49%.
There is a considerable amount of power within the business due to its relationships in sports entertainment, mixed martial arts, film, television, music, digital media, and more.
After a Dana White's Contender Series event inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Tuesday, ProBox TV asked White whether there is room in this new business for a boxing company, considering it already wields extraordinary influence in other areas of combat sports.
White paused for a few seconds, contemplated his answer, and simply told us: "Yeah."
We followed up by asking whether TKO would want to start a new boxing business, or buy one that already exists. Golden Boy Promotions boss Oscar de la Hoya, for example, has spoken recently of a sale, and Top Rank founder and CEO Bob Arum told us three years ago that anything is for sale.
Again, White looked down and thought about what to say. "I would create," he told ProBox TV.
Wanting additional detail, we asked if he could elaborate to which he said "no," before laughing.
It is unclear how the prospective boxing firm would operate and whether it would rely on UFC fighters in a boxing ring, new talent with already-existing boxing skills, or contain a strategy to sign boxing's big names.
But if the idea is for it to replicate the power that WWE and UFC have in their respective fields then it's likely TKO's boxing company would immediately rival the sport's biggest firms like Premier Boxing Champions and Top Rank.
