If Dana White thinks he can just waltz into boxing and take it over, he’s crazy.
That’s according to Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn, who may admire what White has done in MMA but is ready to battle the UFC’s parent company TKO as they enter the boxing world with Canelo Alvarez vs. Terrence Crawford this weekend.
“You’re not gonna see me slagging off Dana White,” Hearn said on The Stomping Grounds. “Not because I don’t wanna upset him, because I respect him, and I have a good relationship with
him. The one thing that I would really like at this point in my career is to go head to head with him and to take him on.”
“I wanna compete against Dana White. I wanna prove that I’m much better than him as a boxing promoter. So I’m excited for him to come into the space.”
“That doesn’t mean we’re gonna fall out, by the way,” he added. “Competition’s fantastic. But you’re not gonna come into boxing and steamroll the game. It’s not gonna happen. But we can get on. We can work together. But ultimately, it depends how they’re gonna maneuver. Everybody is a competitor to us in the sport, but a lot of those competitors are friends. And a lot of those competitors, we work with for the benefit of our business, our fighters, and the sport.”
“That hopefully will be the same with Dana, but let’s see how it plays out.”
Dana White fired back on The Jim Rome Show.
“My guy Eddie Hearn, whom I love and I respect, I saw him today, he’s out there talking smack,” White said. “He’s like, ‘Dana’s wrong. He can’t do this. What’s he doing that’s different? Everybody’s doing the same thing, and I look forward to competing against him to show that I’m the best boxing promoter in the world.’ I love this stuff.”
White has had a stranglehold on the MMA world for so long that he seemed genuinely excited at the prospect of a decent rival challenging him.
“I look forward to it too, Eddie. I can’t wait.”
“And [to] all you boxing guys out there that want to talk crap and talk all your smack,” White added later. “Three of the biggest fights in boxing history: Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, McGregor vs. Mayweather, and now Crawford vs. Canelo. I’ve been a part of two of the three biggest fights ever in the history of boxing. Suck on that one, boys!”
