Hearn mocks absent Dana White as 'greatest PR disaster in boxing' after Fury-Joshua presser

Eddie Hearn seized on Dana White’s absence from the Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua press conference in London on Wednesday to declare a public victory over the UFC CEO, labelling White’s conduct in the build-up to the fight ‘one of the greatest PR disasters in boxing’.

White had been positioned as a co-promoter on the December 11 Cardiff card in the months leading up to the bout being finalised, a claim Hearn consistently disputed on contractual grounds. With White nowhere to be seen at the first face-off between Fury and Joshua, the Matchroom Boxing chief wasted little time in making his point.

“It’s a load of bollocks,” Hearn told The Stomping Ground after the press conference. “Turki is partners with Dana and Nick Khan. He wants them involved in the event, contractually they can’t be unless I allow them to be. What’s happened to them over the last seven days has been one of the greatest PR disasters in boxing. I don’t even have to go in on them.”

Hearn argued that White could have handled the situation far more gracefully by acknowledging the contractual reality and opening a dialogue rather than publicly insisting on a role he was never legally entitled to hold.

“All you had to do was say ‘we understand there is a contract in place that prevents us from being involved, we’re going to get together with Eddie Hearn and Turki Alalshikh and discuss it,’” Hearn said. “If you can tell me a reason that I should allow these people into the fight and it benefits Anthony Joshua and Matchroom, let’s chat.”

Hearn was particularly pointed about specific claims White made publicly in the weeks prior, including assertions that he knew the fight’s venue and had signed a venue contract — details that ultimately proved incorrect when the bout was confirmed for Cardiff.

“What you can’t do is sit up there and tell the world you’re promoting the event, you know where the fight’s taking place and the fight’s happening in America,” Hearn said. “As you said in your press conference, ‘tell me what I said wasn’t true.’ Well, there’s three things right there. You thought you had the fight in America. You told the world you knew where it was. You told the world you signed the venue contract. None of that materialised. You were wrong.”

Fury and Joshua are scheduled to meet on December 11 in Cardiff, England, in one of the most anticipated heavyweight bouts in years. Hearn made clear that while he was willing to consider any proposal that genuinely benefited Joshua and Matchroom, he was equally prepared to defend his position against what he described as an attempt by outside parties to move into boxing’s promotional landscape.