Dana White appears to be pushing back against the clear contractual terms surrounding boxing’s biggest fight.
Assuming both make it through their summer warm-up bouts unscathed, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are set to meet in November finally.
The former heavyweight champions have been linked to a potential showdown for over a decade, and their clash is expected to draw massive pay-per-view numbers.
Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn, who promote Fury and Joshua, respectively, have publicly stated that the contract for their bout includes a clause preventing White from serving as a promoter.
Despite this, the UFC boss doesn’t seem deterred from trying to put his stamp on the event.
White pushes back against Fury-Joshua promotion ban reports
Dana White has spent the past few months locked in a bitter exchange with several boxing promoters, with much of his frustration aimed at Eddie Hearn. Once on good terms, their relationship soured when they found themselves on opposite sides of the promotional landscape.
After tonight’s Zuffa Boxing event in Bournemouth, White didn’t hold back in his criticism of Hearn. The remarks came after Hearn called for White to release UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. Hearn, who manages Aspinall, believes his fighter deserves a new deal.
When asked during the press conference if he was promoting the show, White brushed off concerns from Hearn and Warren. He questioned whether the fight’s venue had been made public yet before hinting that he already knew.
“Do you think that I would publicly lie and that I would look like an idiot in front of everybody?” White asked. “Do you believe that I would? What would be the point of that? Ah, I was lying everybody, gotcha! What would be the point of that?
“Call Eddie right now and ask him if he knows where the fight is. Call Eddie and ask him who negotiated the contract for the fight?”
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