Dana White welcome at next Fury-Joshua press conference under one condition, says Eddie Hearn

On the eve of his reported sit-down with Dana White in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Eddie Hearn says he would welcome the Zuffa Boxing boss at the next Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua press conference.

There is one caveat: Hearn wants the pair to be allowed to hash out their differences for the world to see.

“He will only be there if we allow him to be there,” Hearn told Ariel Helwani.

“I don’t have an issue with Dana White being at the press conference. I would actually love to get him up there. But you’ve got to let us go at it.

“If you think you’ve seen a car crash so far, wait till you see when I get in front of him at a press conference. My goodness... It would just be like taking candy from a baby.”

Hearn and White have been engaged in an increasingly ugly feud since well before the announcement of Fury and Joshua’s Friday, December 11 showdown at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

White has claimed he is the promoter of record on behalf of Saudi boxing financier Turki Alalshikh. Hearn has countered by pointing to Joshua’s contract, which he says specifically prohibits White from being involved in the fight.

And while such public rows rarely make either party look particularly good, Hearn says he has enjoyed tangible benefits from what he regards as his “massive win” over White. The British Boxing Board of Control listed Matchroom Boxing, Queensberry Promotions and Sela as the event’s official promoters, with no mention of Zuffa.

“I look at my social media, all that kind of stuff… My profile in America is nowhere near where it is in the UK, and that’s starting to change a lot because of the battle with Dana. Every time he speaks, he’s talking about me, and it's really been really good for me and fun, obviously even more fun when you’re winning. But it’s a battle, and I think it’s only the first of many in this process.”

Hearn added that White, who was not present at the launch press conference on September 30, could have been involved in the fight already but has so far refused to offer an olive branch and end the hostilities.

“Dana keeps being told, ‘Just stop. Don’t say this, don’t say this,’ and he can’t help himself. It makes it worse and worse and worse,” Hearn said.

“Five or six weeks ago, he was expected to come out and say, ‘I understand there’s a clause in the contract that means we can’t be involved promotionally. I’m going to reach out to Eddie and Matchroom, we’re going to have a sit-down.’ He was told to say that, and he wouldn’t say it.”

Nevertheless, Hearn maintains that the door is not closed. 

“They could potentially be involved… I’m happy to talk, but you can’t just presume that we’re going to allow you to breach an agreement, walk all over us and talk the way you’ve spoken. Everyone will always tell you about me: he’s a man of principles. But there’s always a deal to be done. We can work it out, and we can all win, but not like this.”

“It’s been a tough few weeks and months. It’s a dogfight,” Hearn continued. “But we’ll see what happens now. We’ll have good days, we’ll have bad days. But you’ve got to celebrate the wins and know that you’ll get beat sometimes and know that you’ll have tough days. I’m not sure I’m feeling myself, but I’m buzzing.

“When you get them [people] saying, Keep going, Eddie, we’re loving this. Show them. 

"Thank you for bringing the fight to Britain.

"Thank you for winning this race with Dana White.

"Keep going. It’s a pretty good feeling.”