Dana White has credited Eddie Hearn for ensuring the Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua fight will take place in the United Kingdom, despite their ongoing public feud and competing interests over the bout’s location and promotion.
The heavyweight clash is set for 11 December at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, with the main event expected to unfold in the early hours of 12 December. White, president of the UFC and head of Zuffa Boxing, revealed that while he and Saudi Arabian organisers initially preferred a venue in the United States, Joshua and Hearn stood firm on their contractual right to host the fight in the UK.
"You've got to give credit to Eddie for really grinding that and making sure that it happened in the UK," White told Steve Bunce on the 5 Live Boxing with Bunce podcast. This admission came amid weeks of speculation about the fight’s location, with rival promoters and organisers locked in a dispute over where and how the bout would be staged.
White also addressed the ongoing tension between himself and Hearn, who has publicly distanced himself from White’s involvement in the promotion of the fight. Since the launch of Zuffa Boxing earlier this year, Hearn has repeatedly denied that White would have a role in promoting the event. The fight itself is being presented as a collaboration between Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh’s The Ring and White’s company, but Hearn has said White’s involvement "ain't happening."
Despite these tensions, Fury and Joshua held a joint news conference on 30 September to ease concerns that the fight might collapse. White was absent from that event but insisted, "me and my team will be producing the fight that night." He acknowledged that both Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter, and Eddie Hearn would also be promoters on the bill.
White admitted he was tired of the feud with Hearn, saying, "I'm actually bored with this now. Who cares? This isn't about me and Eddie Hearn. It's about AJ and Fury. It's about this heavyweight fight. It's an Eddie show, not a Dana and Eddie show. It's boring now. This is about AJ and Fury. This was never the Dana and Eddie show. It's been all the Eddie show."
The fight is scheduled on a card that begins on 11 December and will be broadcast on Netflix. Tickets for the event, which were priced up to £13,000, sold out within an hour of going on sale. The Principality Stadium is expected to remain open until 3.30am to accommodate the length of the event.
White suggested he was willing to meet with Hearn to discuss the latter’s involvement in the promotion, but he did not see the need for such a meeting. Hearn, meanwhile, has hinted at a possible reconsideration of White’s role, though nothing has been confirmed.
The Fury-Joshua fight remains one of the most anticipated heavyweight bouts in recent years, with both fighters under contractual arrangements that have complicated negotiations. White’s acknowledgment of Hearn’s role in securing the UK venue marks a rare moment of praise amid their ongoing disagreements.
According to BBC Sports.
