Eddie Hearn will continue to insist that Dana White be completely frozen out of boxing’s biggest fight in new contractual updates.
Earlier this year, Hearn and Anthony Joshua inked a deal with Saudi Arabian supremo Turki Alalshikh for their end of a matchup with Tyson Fury. The all-British heavyweight super-fight has been on the table for over a decade, but has never been able to happen for various reasons.
One key stipulation on Joshua’s side of the deal is an insistence that White or the wider TKO Group that includes Zuffa Boxing, UFC and WWE have nothing to do with the show. Since the venue appears to have now changed, a contractual addendum has been sent, but Hearn is standing by the ban on his rival.
HUGE: Dana White announces UFC Shanghai ‘smashed’ four records in reaction to action-packed card
Eddie Hearn doubles down on Dana White ban in new Anthony Joshua v Tyson Fury update
When Anthony Joshua signed his deal, the fight was agreed to take place in the United Kingdom. It appears that Tyson Fury has no such stipulation and is happy for the new venue to be Madison Square Garden.
Eddie Hearn also included a contractual mention that Dana White would not be involved, which has evidently been overlooked to this point. The UFC boss told Bloody Elbow last month that he did the venue and broadcast deals for the event, even though an addendum had yet to be added.
Asked directly by Bloody Elbow in Dublin today at the Katie Taylor vs Flora Pili press conference if the new-look deal will allow for White to be involved, Hearn replied: “No or else there will be no fight and we’ll just keep going.
“You have to understand, right, AJ is one of my closest friends, AJ is a shareholder of Matchroom. So I know the narrative run by Tyson Fury is ‘oh Eddie’s ego’. No, no, no. We are a team and AJ will say to me ‘why are they involved?’ I said ‘Exactly, so are you ok with them not being involved?’ He says ‘yeah’.
“So the responses in the addendum are not ‘Eddie Hearn’s wishes’, they’re Anthony Joshua’s wishes. So why would we [allow White to promote it]? None of it makes sense. And by the way, Dana can’t help himself.”
Hearn admits that ego is playing a part in the issue, noting that he has been at war with White and fellow TKO Group boss Nick Khan. He recalled joking with the latter, who serves as WWE president, that this deal would be akin to Matchroom taking over the promotion of WrestleMania at the…
2026-09-02 02:00:00
