Dana White credits Eddie Hearn for keeping Fury–Joshua fight in Britain

Dana White has credited Eddie Hearn with securing a British venue for Tyson Fury’s scheduled fight with Anthony Joshua at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on 11 December 2026. Speaking to BBC Sport in an interview published on 9 October, White also said he was bored with his public dispute with Hearn over who will promote and produce the event.

White, the UFC president and head of Zuffa Boxing, said Hearn deserved credit for ensuring the contest stayed in the UK. BBC Sport reported that White and Saudi organisers had wanted New York’s Madison Square Garden, while Joshua and Hearn insisted on their contractual right to a British venue. The location matters to the fighters, organisers and spectators planning around a Cardiff event, even as the division of work behind it remains contested.

What White said about Hearn and the Cardiff venue

‘You’ve got to give credit to Eddie for really grinding that and making sure that it happened in the UK,’ White told the BBC’s 5 Live Boxing with Bunce podcast. He said he and his team would produce the fight that night and described himself as one of its promoters, alongside Hearn and Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren. Those are White’s descriptions of his role; they do not resolve Hearn’s objections.

White also sought to move attention back to the boxers. ‘I’m actually bored with this now. Who cares? This isn’t about me and Eddie Hearn,’ he said. ‘It’s about AJ and Fury. It’s about this heavyweight fight.’ Although White said he was willing to meet Hearn, he did not consider a meeting necessary. The BBC reported that Hearn had indicated this week that he was prepared to meet White to discuss how he might be involved. Neither account establishes that a meeting took place or that the two agreed a role.

When Fury and Joshua are due to fight

Fury and Joshua appeared at a news conference on 30 September as concerns about the contest eased, according to the BBC. White did not attend. The broadcaster said the fight has been presented as a collaboration between Saudi boxing figure Turki Alalshikh’s The Ring and White, a description that sits alongside continuing disagreement about what White will actually do on fight night.

Why White’s promotional role remains disputed

The disagreement predates White’s latest interview. In reporting published on 4 October, MMA Fighting quoted Hearn rejecting White’s claim that his team would produce the Netflix broadcast. Hearn said he had contacted Saudi event funder SELA and that it had rejected the claim. That is Hearn’s account of the exchange, not an independently verified production agreement. MMA Fighting also quoted White maintaining that he would be present, produce the show and promote it.

There is a distinction between being a licensed promoter and working on a broadcast. BoxingInsider reported on 1 October that the British Boxing Board of Control had told BoxingScene the promotion named in its paperwork involved Queensberry Promotions, Matchroom Boxing and Sela; Zuffa Boxing was not named. BoxingInsider noted that the Board’s information about licensed promotion did not determine who held the production contract. It also reported that the Board was still discussing who would be the British licence-holder for the event at that time. The available reporting does not establish whether that position has since changed.

BoxingInsider quoted Hearn saying he and Alalshikh would discuss whether White could have some role, while Hearn maintained that White was not the fight’s promoter. That leaves a practical question for the organisers: whether White’s team will work on the broadcast or elsewhere at the event, and on what agreed terms. White’s latest comments signal less appetite for the public argument, but they do not announce a settled production arrangement.