Eddie Hearn Wins Promotion Battle as Dana White Gets Booed at Fury vs Joshua Launch
Dana White was absent from the London press conference and got booed when his name was mentioned. Eddie Hearn loved every second.
The Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua press conference in London was supposed to be about the fighters. It became about the promoters.
Dana White was nowhere near the stage on Tuesday. Despite months of insisting he would promote the December 11 heavyweight fight at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, White stayed in Las Vegas while the event rolled without him. When Michael Buffer listed the promoters, White was not among them.
Then came the moment. Saudi advisor Turki Alalshikh thanked White by name during his remarks, saying, "A big thanks to my brother, who is suddenly not here today, Dana White. This is between you and them, not me." The London crowd booed loudly, per multiple reports from BJPenn.com and MMA News.
Cameras caught Eddie Hearn grinning as the boos rained down. The Matchroom promoter had fought to keep White from taking a lead role in the event and appeared to get exactly what he wanted.
Joshua made his loyalty clear. "My loyalty is with Eddie," Joshua said, per Boxing News 24. "So whatever he wants to do, if he wants to pull the plug, I will be right there tugging that plug with him."
The fight itself is still on. Fury and Joshua shared a respectful staredown and even exchanged a laugh. The card will stream exclusively on Netflix. But the promotional turf war that nearly torpedoed the whole thing clearly is not over.
This was Eddie Hearn at his absolute best, and I do not even like the guy that much. He drew a line, held it, and watched the crowd do his dirty work for him. Dana White has been running combat sports for 25 years and he just got iced out of the biggest heavyweight fight in a decade.
The Joshua quote is the real story here. AJ basically told the world he would blow up a nine-figure fight just to back his promoter. That is either genuine loyalty or the best leverage play in boxing. Either way, it worked. Hearn got to stand on that stage without White, and Joshua got to look like the loyal soldier.
White will be fine. He always is. But getting booed by a London crowd at a fight you said you were promoting? That one has to sting a little.
