Dana White’s transition into boxing promotion may come a little later than advertised.

The UFC boss revealed in recent weeks that his long-rumoured move into the sweet science was drawing nearer, saying in Dublin ahead of a boxing match featuring Cork native Callum Walsh inside the famous 3Arena (which was broadcast on UFC Fight Pass) that some “big announcements” were forthcoming in relation to White’s interest in the sport.

“I’ve never said [something I don’t do], and we’ve been kicking the whole boxing thing around for a long time. You’ve never heard me commit and say, ‘I’m in.’ I’m in,” White said, in comments reported by Bloody Elbow.

But in a quarterly earnings call from TKO Group — the conglomerate group that owns both the UFC and WWE — CEO Mark Shapiro said that White’s comments on boxing do not necessarily reflect the immediate TKO Group strategies.

“First of all, some off-the-cuff comments from Dana White do not translate into a strategy that we’re communicating to the street,” Shapiro said, per MMA Fighting. “Dana says a lot of things and has a lot of passions and that’s why we love him. He’s also the best promoter the sport of MMA, and frankly if it was boxing, has or will ever see.

“What I can tell you is boxing at its best is confused and fragmented,” added Shaprio. “At its worst, it’s broken. We think the sport presents an interesting growth opportunity for us. Dana White, and I should mention (WWE president) Nick Khan, have deep expertise and longstanding relationships in what they call the sweet science, otherwise known as boxing.

“If we were to get involved in boxing, we would expect to do so in an organic way, not (mergers and acquisitions) way. So, we’re not writing a cheque. If we launched the vertical at any time, we kind of see it as doing it with a partner that would fund it and pay us to operate.”

But it is important to stress that Shapiro’s comments didn’t rule out the possibility of boxing promotion — but he did address the expected timeline for such a venture.

In terms of models and leagues and how we’d structure it, etc., etc., that’s way down the road,” he said. “Once we have something, if we have something, you’ll be the first to know.”