Will there be peace in our time between Dana White and Eddie Hearn? Peace may be too strong of a word, but Hearn has suggested a deal could be worked out that will allow White and UFC / Zuffa Boxing parent company TKO to participate in an upcoming Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury super fight.
White has insisted since the start that his participation is set in stone. But clauses in Anthony Joshua’s signed contract with Saudi entertainment company SELA specifically state the fight must take place in the U.K.
and TKO may not be involved. After weeks of behind-the-scenes jostling and public trash talking between White and A.J.’s manager Hearn, the fight was announced for Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales — not Madison Square Garden, New York as White and TKO had been working on.
Eddie 1, Dana 0.
And while Hearn and White are still spitting insults at each other, there’s signs that Eddie might be ready to let Dana participate in the event … so long as he gets to bash the ‘soppy tit’ to his face at future pressers.
Hearn shared that he’ll travel to Los Angeles in the coming week for a big meeting regarding the fight, and White is set to attend.
“Yeah, it’s supposed to be with him, yeah,” Hearn said following Matchroom’s Ben Whittaker event on Saturday night. “I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but they cannot be involved in the fight unless myself and Anthony allow them to be. And they seem to be very desperate to be involved in the fight. And Turki wants them to be involved in the fight and so do Netflix.”
“It’s great for the promotion, so I’m not against it,” he continued. “I just want you to tell me and explain why. Why should I? What’s in it for Anthony? What’s in it for us? And once we establish that, we can make a decision. But so far, I think people can’t deny it’s been great for the promotion and the buildup and the hype of the fight.”
“But if you’re going to let him come to the presser, you’ve got to let me talk to him. You can’t ask me a question and just try and silence me there because I want to go back and forwards. I got a lot of questions to quiz him on his boxing knowledge about his clients and potential opponents for them, stuff like that.”
There’s a real question as to whether the Hearn vs. White drama is adding to the Fury vs. Joshua fight or taking away from it. While their banter might be generating articles on both the MMA and boxing sides of the media, it’s also taking ink away from the fight they’re all claiming they want to promote.
At a certain point, you really hope the fighters will take center stage. Hearn seems interested in keeping the White feud front and center, or at least as a sort of demented co-main. Will we really have to put up with over two more months of this?
