Dana White has again said he is promoting the Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury fight expected later this year, a claim that Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn, the promoters who represent the two heavyweights, have rejected on the basis of signed contracts. The exchange resurfaced at the Zuffa Boxing 07 post-fight press conference in Bournemouth on Saturday, June 6, 2026, where White was asked directly whether he was promoting the bout.
What Dana White said
White first staked the claim in a livestream appearance earlier this year. “This is the busiest year of my career. I’m gonna be traveling everywhere. I’m focused on Zuffa Boxing hardcore this year,” he said. “I’m doing the Tyson Fury, AJ fight, too. I’m gonna be promoting that.”
Pressed on the matter in Bournemouth, White did not address the contractual point and instead pointed to Hearn. “Do you think that I would publicly lie and that I would look like a f***ing idiot in front of everybody? Do you believe that I would? What would be the point of that?” White said. “Call Eddie right now and ask him if he knows where the fight is. Call Eddie and ask him who negotiated the contract for the fight.” He also said the venue had been determined and indicated he knew it.
What Frank Warren said
Warren, the Queensberry Promotions founder who promotes Fury, disputed White’s account when asked about it. “Well, he’s not,” Warren told Fight Hub TV, on whether White would promote the fight. “The contract with Tyson says Zuffa will not be allowed to promote that fight. I don’t know why Dana White said he will be. It’s bulls***.”
What Eddie Hearn said
Hearn, the Matchroom chairman who promotes Joshua, first responded on social media. “Such a clout chaser. Not a chance, and contractually impossible. Let me know when you find your balls,” he wrote.
He later set out the contractual position in more detail. “The reality is the contract’s the contract. The fight doesn’t take place if they have any promotional involvement in the show,” Hearn told iFL TV. “It specifically says if Zuffa, TKO. It specifically mentions them, and anybody associated with that company cannot have any involvement, promotional involvement in the show. Tyson Fury’s contract says exactly the same thing, and that’s been signed.”
Hearn also named the parties he said would run the event. “Who is going to promote this show is Eddie Hearn, Frank Warren, Spencer Brown, and Turki. We all had a shake. We’re all going to work together on it,” he said. “It’s not this big deal about there’s going to be some guest promoter, because contractually it can’t work like that.”
The Alalshikh factor
The competing accounts converge on Turki Alalshikh, the General Entertainment Authority chairman who is funding and directing the fight. Hearn has said the venue decision rests with Alalshikh, who has been central to the sport’s biggest recent events through Riyadh Season and his ownership of Ring Magazine.
White is the closest of the promoters to Alalshikh. He runs Zuffa Boxing as lead promoter, and the venture is funded by Alalshikh through Riyadh Season and Sela, the Saudi company that partners with TKO Group Holdings on the promotion. White previously fronted the Canelo Alvarez against Terence Crawford card in 2025, another Alalshikh event, before Zuffa Boxing’s formal launch.
Warren, by contrast, has been at odds with Alalshikh, Sela, Ring Magazine and TKO, and filed a reported $1 billion lawsuit against TKO and Sela in February over the formation of Zuffa Boxing, claiming he should have been part of it. He has continued to do business with Alalshikh, including on the Fury fight. Joshua is scheduled to face Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia on July 25, with Fury also expected to take an interim bout before the two meet. That the fight is targeted for November, with Netflix expected to broadcast.
