Dana White accuses Eddie Hearn of sabotaging Fury vs. Joshua: 'He's hurting this fight'

Dana White has launched a stinging public attack on Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, accusing him of actively undermining the prospects of a Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua fight and threatening to cut him — along with every other intermediary — out of the deal entirely.

“I’ve never seen a guy who’s supposed to be a promoter hurt a fight more than this guy has,” White told MMA Fighting ahead of the Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn card on Saturday. “He’s hurting this fight. He’s hurting [Anthony Joshua], he’s hurting [Tyson] Fury. It’s the weirdest thing ever.”

The relationship between White and Hearn was once openly warm. When the UFC president moved into boxing through Zuffa Boxing, he made a point of avoiding direct conflict with Hearn and Matchroom. That goodwill has since evaporated. White says Hearn turned Zuffa Boxing into “public enemy No. 1”, and what had been a cordial working relationship has become openly hostile.

Negotiations over the Fury-Joshua fight have stalled repeatedly over disputes about location, venue, and the broader structure of the event. Both fighters have reportedly grown pessimistic about the bout ever materialising — a fight that has been in the works for more than a decade.

White’s proposed solution is blunt: strip the deal back to its bare essentials and do it himself alongside Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren.

“I’d say fck all you motherfckers, deal’s off,” White said. “I’d get together with Frank Warren because I have to, because he’s the guy on the other side, and I’d do the fight myself. I’d cut out the Saudis, me, and everybody else in between. I’d drop them all out and I’d do the fight myself. I’d wipe the whole f*cking thing out.”

White acknowledged that Hearn would prefer to promote the fight on his own terms but argued he simply does not have the leverage or the independence to make that happen. “If Eddie could do that, then he’d do it,” White said.

For now, Fury, Joshua, and the wider promotional teams remain locked in a standoff, with no confirmed date, venue, or contract in place for what would be one of the most commercially significant heavyweight bouts in British boxing history.