The fight between Dana Whtie and Eddie Hearn over who is promoting Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury has gone on for so long and is getting so ridiculous that it has started to overshadow the Joshua vs. Fury fight itself.
In a perfect world, Joshua vs. Fury would have been officially announced the moment Fury beat Mariusz Wach and Joshua beat Kristian Prenga in a series of questionable warm-ups nearly a month ago. But since then we’re heard nothing but non-stop accusations of promotional malpractice and contractual
interference from Joshua’s manager, Eddie Hearn.
Hearn says Joshua has a contract that demands UFC and Zuffa Boxing parent company TKO isn’t involved in the fight. The contract also states the fight must happen in the United Kingdom. In a recent interview with About Boxing, Hearn said that contract is being breached.
“Obviously they want to change the contract that we signed, which we don’t like to do,” Hearn said. “Right now there is no agreement to change anything in that contract. And right now from our side, no announcement is imminent.”
“I should be suing Dana White,” Hearn declared later. “Because what he’s doing is, he’s actually purporting to have the ability to stage the fight [in the U.S], and he’s using my client to do a venue deal that he has no rights to.”
“The reality is, now, TKO are coming on, asking me if they can be involved,” he continued. “So Dana White’s gone from being the promoter of the event to asking if he can be involved. And rather than saying ‘F–k off,’ I’m saying, ‘Why? Why should I let you be involved in this event? Break it down for me. Tell me how it benefits Anthony Joshua. Tell me how it benefits Matchroom. Tell me how it benefits my fighters.'”
UFC CEO Dana White responded with a mix of annoyance and sly mischief when asked about the situation. It’s worth noting, though, he stopped himself from making more statements that could end up in lawsuit documents from Hearn.
“I’m not going to play these f–king games with these f–king guys,” White said at Tuesday night’s Contender Series post-fight press conference.White added he hadn’t heard Hearn’s threat to sue. “I have not. I stopped listening to Eddie Hearn about three months ago. Is there anybody more full of s–t than this guy? Come on. Completely full of s–t.”
As this battle goes on, it’s looking more and more likely that this goes to court. And if it does, it seems likely that the Fury vs. Joshua fight ends up scuttled once more.
