Dana White questions Fury-Joshua fight after promoter dispute clouds Cardiff date
Dana White cast doubt on the scheduled Anthony Joshua versus Tyson Fury bout at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on 11 December when, speaking at London's Copper Box on Saturday, he said he did not know whether the fight would take place. The contest had been officially announced on Thursday but certainty unravelled within 48 hours amid a public dispute over promotional rights.
The announcement of the fight was presented as a collaboration involving Saudi powerbroker Turki Alalshikh's The Ring and White's Zuffa Boxing, with no reference to Eddie Hearn or Frank Warren, long-time promoters of Joshua and Fury respectively. Hearn has argued Joshua's contract specifically prevents White and American sports entertainment company TKO from having a promotional role and said Netflix had not been made aware of that provision, adding there had been breaches of the agreement that needed to be resolved. Fury told organisers a similar restriction had originally appeared in his own contract but was removed because he wanted White involved. Warren told BBC Sport he believed White had helped secure the Netflix deal and that compromises had been necessary to get the fight made.
White made his comments after a Zuffa Boxing card at the Copper Box where British heavyweight Johnny Fisher beat Michael Pirotton on his promotional debut; during media exchanges he twice declined to confirm the fight's future, saying "I don't know" and "I have no idea." He was pointed in his criticism of Hearn, saying: "The guy who is supposed to be helping the fight has been hurting the fight," and "He hasn't done the fight any favours." White also rejected a suggestion made during the US broadcast of the card that he was helping Alalshikh on a personal level rather than acting as a promoter, saying: "I don't know where that came from. That was weird."
Uncertainty intensified on Friday when reports suggested Fury-Joshua could be in jeopardy and that alternative fights for 11 December were being discussed, including Ryan Garcia against Terence Crawford. Crawford, who appeared surprised by the reports, posted a video in which he said Joshua and Hearn were "trying to pull out" and blamed the dispute largely on Hearn's objection to White. There has been no announcement from Joshua saying he intends to withdraw.
Social-media activity added to the confusion: Alalshikh posted pictures with White and shared a cryptic Arabic message about somebody attempting to "stab you where you told them it hurts," while Hearn posted an image with a shushing emoji and the message: "Bet against me." With much of the media in east London discussing who knew what about the bout and whether a Wednesday news conference would proceed, White gave no firm commitment on his attendance, saying: "I guess I'll leave that as a surprise."
As of Saturday night Netflix still listed Fury against Joshua at the Principality Stadium on 11 December and said the fighters would attend Wednesday's news conference, but the contractual disagreement between promoters remained unresolved. The next confirmed public step for the promoted bout is the scheduled Wednesday news conference in London.